Americans are eager to rebuild our infrastructure — the nation's schools, highways, bridges, dams, and transit systems that have been suffering from decades of neglect. But before any golden shovel photo-ops can take place, we must first invest and build our workforce to meet today's construction demands.
October is Careers in Construction Month, a time to celebrate the people who build our nation and reach out to the construction workers of the future.
Today, the construction industry employs about 7.5 million workers, and we have an estimated 500,000 jobs open this year. If we add a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into the equation, we could create an additional one million jobs. The demand for construction workers is high, and firms are anxiously looking to hire tomorrow's electricians, carpenters, welders, plumbers, HVAC specialists, and more.
Associated Builders and Contractors and its 70 chapters are doing their part to train construction professionals using innovative and flexible apprenticeship models like just-in-time task training, competency-based progression, work-based learning, and government-registered training to build a safe, skilled, and productive workforce.
But Washington can also help. President Trump and policymakers can help bridge the skills gap and shape the workforce of tomorrow in three ways.
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01.20.2025