Can Tech Solve the Construction Industry's Skills Shortage?
The worker shortage is here to stay. Digitization could be the answer
By Ibrahim Imam, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of PlanRadar
The U.S. construction industry has a serious labor shortage. According to Associated Builders & Contractors, this year alone the industry will need to hire about 650,000 workers over and above its current pace of hiring in order to meet its needs. Over the next 3 years, the industry will need to hire at least 2.2 million new workers on top of the 7.45 million Americans who already work in construction jobs.
That’s a problem, because the construction industry is simultaneously struggling to retain aging workers, and also to attract young workers. The number of construction workers aged 54 or younger has fallen 8% over the past decade. Those aged 55 or older now account for 20% of the total construction workforce — and the sector’s average retirement age is just 61, so we’ll see many of those aging employees leaving the workforce in the coming months.
To turn things around, construction firms need to solve two key problems. First, they need to learn to do more with less, and to maximize productivity for their remaining employees. Second, they need to make construction jobs more appealing to younger workers, creating an on-ramp for a new generation of construction laborers.
Fortunately, it might just be possible to kill two birds with one stone. New digital technologies are now transforming the construction business, helping teams to work far more efficiently — and also making the sector far more enticing to young, tech-savvy high school and college graduates.
The rise of tech-enabled construction
Today’s construction sites, after all, aren’t just places where guys in hard hats heave pallets of bricks around. Increasingly, we’re all using sophisticated Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools to manage complex projects and organize work across multiple job sites, to organize the flow of materials even amidst supply chain disruptions, and to keep customers, architects, engineers, and frontline laborers on the same page about a project’s progress.
We’re also using digital checklists to keep everything organized, and digital communication platforms to share information and keep teams pulling in the same direction. We’re even using drones to conduct surveys far more quickly than was previously possible, allowing a single worker to complete tasks that might previously have taken a dozen laborers.
Even site managers are finding that tech can be a powerful force multiplier. Remote monitoring tools and web-enabled cameras, for instance, allow supervisors to keep a closer eye on their guys, to manage sites more efficiently, and to keep the wheels spinning even when they aren’t physically present. The result: more productive teams, better quality work, and fewer mistakes that lead to costly reworking.
Young workers want digital tech
The digitization of construction is a big deal not just because it drives efficiency, but because it makes the industry itself seem far more modern and appealing to younger workers. We all know that today’s youngsters were apparently born with iPhones in their hands, so it should come as no surprise that young workers would much rather deal with a tablet or a smartphone than a clipboard or a binder full of technical information.
Crucially, digital tools also give young employees a chance to see themselves not simply as muscle for hire, but as valued workers with skills and potential. Digital tech opens the door to communication and collaboration; it enables people to access information, solve problems, and learn quickly; and it gives managers the ability to give feedback, recognize success, and acknowledge people’s achievements.
This kind of engagement, and this kind of potential for learning and growing, is exactly what younger workers are looking for. Stop by a high school and ask people if they want to do hot, difficult, dusty work, and you won’t get many takers. But ask kids if they want to use digital modeling, advanced project management tools, and cutting-edge communication and collaboration systems to build meaningful real-world projects, and you’ll see their eyes light up.
A magnet, not a stumbling block
The idea that leveling up tech use in construction could help us through the labor crisis might sound counterintuitive. After all, STEM skills are in even shorter supply than conventional construction-related skills. If you can’t find someone to swing a sledgehammer or tile a roof, are you really going to be able to find someone to manage your BIM tools and processes?
The key is to ensure that your tech tools serve as a magnet for talent, not a stumbling block that prevents people from joining your team. That means putting tech solutions in place that level up your workflows without overcomplicating them, and that have a low barrier to entry for both new and existing workers.
Fortunately, many digital technologies can now be accessed and managed using the same smartphones that construction workers and site managers already have in their back pockets. With intuitive UX that’s influenced by consumer apps, it’s increasingly possible for both old and young workers to pick up and use digital solutions with virtually no training required — and because the tech brings real benefits for workers as well as businesses, adoption rates are typically extremely high.
Tech is the answer
Of course, labor shortages are very real, and there’s no denying that some construction companies will struggle to staff their worksites in the coming months and years. At the end of the day, somebody has to swing the hammer if the building is going to get built.
But the more organizations embrace new technologies, the easier it will be to manage even large and complex projects with a leaner workforce, and also to create an on-ramp for a new generation of tech-savvy young construction professionals. One way or another, the industry is changing — and companies that embrace new technologies will be far better placed to survive and thrive in the new era.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.