The Future of the Construction Workforce

Construction has a labor problem, a skills gap, an image issue, and diversity issues. The adoption of technology in construction presents new opportunities to reinvent our image, and our presence, into one that is much less caveman-esque: One that embraces diversity and technology and values its people. This tech adoption also presents us with new challenges as we navigate how to do this without alienating our current workforce who holds much of the knowledge about how we build. The industry cannot afford to push past the existing workforce, nor can it afford to give in and let the industry operate at status quo. Construction needs to adopt new paradigms that encourage the buy-in and support of the current workforce while attracting new talent from labor pools that are traditionally not attracted to the industry, including women and young workers who are just entering the workforce. There are issues in the industry that need to be explored and addressed in order to achieve these goals.