More than half of U.S. contractors say finding skilled workers is big barrier to their growth

More than half of U.S. contractors (55%) say finding enough skilled workers is one of the biggest barriers to growing their business, according to a DEWALT Powering the Future Survey.

That number rises to 69% among businesses with $10 million or more of annual revenue and 64% among survey respondents with 20 years or more of experience. About half of respondents believe that training the next generation of trades professionals is one of the most critical needs for the success of the construction industry in 2023.

An overwhelming majority of contractors (93%) say the lack of skilled workers has had at least a minor impact on their existing work. Half of the contractors who have had their work impacted by the labor shortage (50%) cite the primary causes for the labor gap as a lack of awareness around career paths in construction, followed by outside influences (parents, media, etc.) that guide younger people away from pursuing a career in the industry (47%), as well as an underestimation of how much money can be made (41%).

Keeping up with inflation (57%), risk management (37%), and working long hours (37%) are also major concerns for contractors.

Samuel S. Unger, RA, MCR, SLCR, MBA, is the Americas Real Estate Leader for Ernst & Young, LLP, Atlanta. He also serves as president of the CoreNet Global Atlanta chapter. In addition to managing 6.8 million square feet of real estate in North and South America, his responsibilities include real estate strategy for area practices, management of external professional alliances, requirements definition, business case development and approval, real estate negotiation and lease development, and oversight of construction projects for the portfolio. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, an MLA and MArch from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Temple University.

| Oct 19, 2011

Another drop for Architecture Billings Index

Positive conditions seen last month were more of an aberration.

| Oct 17, 2011

THOUGHT LEADER: Allan Bilka, Senior Staff Architect and Secretariat to the IGCC

Allan Bilka, RA, is a Senior Staff Architect and Secretariat to the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) with the International Code Council, based in the ICC’s Chicago district office. He also serves as staff liaison to the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard. He has written several ICC white papers on green building and numerous green-related articles for the ICC. A registered architect, Bilka has over 30 years of combined residential design/build and commercial consulting engineering experience.

| Oct 17, 2011

Austin's newest urban apartment complex under construction

Complex sits on a four-acre waterfront site along Lady Bird Lake with spectacular city and lake views, and is slated to open spring 2013.

| Oct 17, 2011

Big D Floor covering supplies to offer Johnsonite Products??

Strategic partnership expands offering to south and west coast customers.

| Oct 14, 2011

AISC develops new interoperability strategy to move construction industry forward

AISC is working to bring that vision to reality by developing a three-step interoperability strategy to evaluate data exchanges and integrate structural steel information into buildingSMART's Industry Foundation Classes.

| Oct 14, 2011

University of New Mexico Science & Math Learning Center attains LEED for Schools Gold

Van H. Gilbert architects enhances sustainability credentials.

| Oct 14, 2011

BD+C Survey on Building Information Modeling: The Good, the Bad, and the Solutions

In a recent survey conducted by Building Design+Construction, more than 75% of respondents indicated they currently use BIM or plan to use it. Respondents were also asked to comment on their experiences with BIM, what they liked and disliked about BIM, and what BIM-related advice they would give to their peers.