The labor shortage in the construction industry is one of the biggest drivers of rising construction costs—which some reports estimate have increased 30% year-over-year. The labor shortage impacts both new development and redevelopment projects in commercial and residential markets. Now, the industry is starting to respond to the problem. The National Kitchen and Bath Association is the latest organization to take a step toward closing that gap. It recently hosted the #NextUp event in Las Vegas, hosting graduating high school students to introduce the career opportunities in construction.
“We have done a fair amount of studies in the fall last year, and the data was very specific and allowed us to develop a strategy to support closing this gap ourselves,” Bill Darcy, CEO of NKBA, tells GlobeSt.com. “One of the things that was pointed coming out of our study was 74% of members reported that it has been difficult to recruit of hire skilled trade over the last 12 months. Even more so, 48% of members said that it is difficult to recruit or hire with the professional trade, such as designers and architects.”
The #NextUp event included a panel about the industry and meet-and-greets with industry professionals. Student outreach has been an essential part of the firm's strategy to address the labor shortage. “Bringing the students was an important part of our strategy,” says Darcy. “We want to showcase the exciting parts of the industry to young people. Young people want a less physically demanding job, tech oriented jobs, jobs that pay well, and we are dispelling myths about the industry. Particularly, tech is very involved in the design and construction space. We want to be a part of the conversation about what lucrative careers are available, and we continue to try to create partnerships within the industry.”
NKBA has also created a job portal and training and mentoring programs so that interested students have a place to take the next step. So far, the organization has received a fervent response. “We say that if we could talk to every professional in the industry, we could excite them about what our organization is doing. I feel the same about working with young people,” Darcy. “Their eyes are so wide, and it has really been wonderful. We have generated a lot of excitement, and that gives us more energy to develop create programs that we can get out at a larger scale.”
While there is a labor shortage that is increasing the costs of construction, redevelopment and remodeling and increasing the timeline of projects, demand for labor workers is only growing. “Growth is strong in remodeling,” says Darcy. “While we identify and put plans in place to support the labor shortage, the market continues to grow. So, you have two points converging and causing challenges.”
While NKBA is addressing the labor shortage, Darcy says that it will be a long road ahead to close the gap and truly address the labor shortage affecting the industry. “This is a long lead-time on young people,” says Darcy. “If someone is a junior or senior in high school, it is going to take a while before you can get a metric on success. It is going to take some time to solve this problem, but the awareness is growing.”
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Kelsi Maree Borland
