Collectively, all signs indicate that construction industry recovery will continue into the summer and beyond. The good news: The worst is now past us in terms of market deterioration.
While construction executives will have little control over remaining challenges, such as fluctuating fuel supplies and materials prices, one element they can influence is investment in workforce development. Help is needed, desperately, to keep pace with a potentially incredible labor demand across the country. ABC’s estimates show that by 2023, the construction industry will need to hire 1 million workers.
To that end, ABC contractor members invested .3 billion in workforce development initiatives last year—providing craft, leadership and safety education to 500,000 course attendees to advance their careers in commercial and industrial construction, according to ABC’s 2020 Workforce Development Survey results. (Dive into the full FMI survey data at workforce.abc.org.)
Look no further than ABC’s Construction Workforce Award winners—the Craft Professional of the Year and the Craft Instructor of the Year (both sponsored by NCCER and Tradesmen International) and the Young Professional of the Year (sponsored by Autodesk Construction Cloud)—as true life examples. These individuals, standing on this issue’s cover, play critical roles in shaping the future of the industry by highlighting construction as a meaningful lifelong career, emphasizing safe work practices and expanding education opportunities. Be inspired by their personal journeys.
In an intense business environment, complying with legal contract provisions and labor law regulations is more important than ever. Construction Executive’s Top 50 Construction Law Firms are allies for helping construction executives navigate ways to avoid lawsuits and appropriately manage workplace rules. Don’t miss the jam-packed Construction Law special section.
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