Everybody loves a good comeback story, and skilled tradespeople are about to have their moment, or perhaps decade, in the sun. If you’ve ever considered pursuing a career in the building trades, NOW is the time!
Construction is booming. 2022 and 2023 are poised to be big years in construction, and, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in November of 2021, the demand for men and women in the skilled workforce has never been greater.
The IIJA bill contains an estimated $550 billion in new spending that will be used to improve U.S. roads, bridges, and water systems, and includes funding for projects in public transportation and broadband. Who will be needed to do the majority of that work? You guessed it: skilled tradespeople. President Biden was quoted as saying that the bill will create millions of union jobs all across the country. Plus, new IIJA work aside, the American Institutes of Architects’ Consensus Construction Forecast predicts non-residential construction in the United States will grow 4.6% in 2022, and Oxford Economics and ConstructConnect predict a 9% growth in the residential sector. Those are staggering numbers!
For the women and men who have pursued or are pursuing a career in the building trades, the opportunities are bountiful and almost limitless in the years and decade(s) to come. With boomers retiring from the skilled labor workforce and many younger generations choosing 4-year degrees over trade school in hopes of “more opportunity,” the pool of skilled labor is shrinking, while the need is great and only growing. In the current market, skilled tradespeople are already reaping all the benefits that come with high demand for their unique skills - job security, rich benefits, rising pay, and endless opportunity - and we’ve only scratched the surface of the level of demand to come.
What’s more, tradesmen and tradeswomen will be doing some of the most meaningful, rewarding, and exciting work in the years to come. They will be, quite literally, building a better America with their hands. Talk about work you can hang your hat on and be proud of!
If you’ve been considering a career in the building trades, what are you waiting for? The time is now, and the future is brighter than ever before!
We’d love to have you join us. Learn how to get started with a rich and rewarding career in the building trades today.
During the “Great Resignation” of 2021, millions of U.S. workers left their jobs. According to data recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record 4.5 million workers in America quit in November 2021 alone. What’s more, 74% of full-time workers say they’re planning on quitting their jobs in 2022. The reason? U.S. workers are citing dissatisfaction with pay and benefits, work life balance, and career advancement, but that’s only part of the story. After 2 years of pandemic life, stress levels are at an all-time high, employee engagement is extremely low (34%), and much of the American workforce is feeling undervalued, overworked, and struggling to find meaning and purpose in their jobs and careers.
The million-dollar question being asked by these millions of people: what jobs do the 34% of engaged, satisfied employees have, and how do I get that job, too?
We’ve got the answer: many of them work in the building trades. A recent report showed that 83% of tradespeople are still highly satisfied in their choice of work, despite all of the hurdles and hardships that the pandemic has imposed on all of us.
What is it like to be a trades worker? First things first, in the construction trades, we work hard to make things that are real. When someone asks us what we do, we say, “I’m a sheet metal worker,” or “I’m an electrical worker.” We never have to say, “I’m an associate marketing coordinator reporting to the assistant vice president of sales.” We make bridges, stadiums, houses, roads, machines, things that are real, things that last.
Construction trades have always been essential, long before the words pandemic, COVID, quarantine, and coronavirus were part of everyday life. Construction is the lifeblood of our nation’s progress and welfare, providing infrastructure and services that are critical to all aspects of our everyday lives. So when asked “Are Construction Workers Essential Workers?” the answer is a resounding and multifaceted YES!
For the men and women who work in construction, the most important goal is to go home safe at the end of each shift.
Every year in September, the men and women who built this country and fought for better conditions and protections on behalf of all workers are remembered and celebrated.
As the coronavirus pandemic forced the United States and the rest of the world's educational systems to switch much of its learning online, construction industry apprentices were able to adapt much quicker because a major component of their learning was unchanged.
The use of technology in construction has aided the industry in ways that go largely unnoticed by those who do not spend time on job sites or work in the industry. And despite these technological advancements, construction jobs are not going anywhere.
Despite the fact most high school graduates go to a four-year college to pursue a bachelor's degree, a new study has found that completing a registered apprenticeship program in the construction trades leads to higher average pay than the students who are able to obtain a college degree.
