A shortage of workers has plagued the construction industry for years. According to Forbes, after the 2008 Great Recession, 600,000 construction jobs were lost that havenât returned. A report earlier this year by the Associated Builders and Contractors, a national construction industry trade group, stated that the industry needed to hire an additional 550,000 workers in 2020.
The worker shortage in the construction industry is exacerbated by the lack of young people showing an interest in entering the profession. Per a 2018 Wall Street Journal article, the share of construction workers who are 24 years of age or younger has declined in 48 states since 2005.
The challenge for the construction industry moving forward is to raise awareness of its careers and to recruit young people to join the industry, a process which will begin in the Vilonia School District in kindergarten.