Labor Shortage Continues Despite Competitive Wages
The labor shortage has been discussed for years within the crane, rigging, and specialized transport sector and projections indicate the craft labor shortage to broaden in an NPR article "America Needs Carpenters and Plumbers, Gen Z Doesn't seem interested"
Iverson said, "Now especially, there's an urgency to fill open posts, as the federal government funnels billions into projects to upgrade roads and transit systems across the country. We have to recruit people to do these things or else our bridges are going to fall apart."
A new research study on the state of the workforce in crane, rigging, and specialized transportation could help to provide a business case for a career in the industry as it indicates significantly higher wage ranges and employee retention than in other sectors of construction and manufacturing. Additionally, jobs in this sector of construction can require less travel and greater room for advancement.
The study "The State of the Workforce in Crane, Rigging and Specialized Transportation" will be published by the SC&RF in July 2023 at www.scr-foundation.org.
Another recent study by Equipment World of construction industry professionals points to several challenges that could be addressed to correct the path of the looming shortage and include:
- Work ethic or lack of "work ethic" has made it hard for companies to fill roles. Specifically, 77% of operators and 84% of managers cite work ethic as the biggest reason companies are not able to find employees.
- Exposure gap: This refers to the lack of exposure to opportunities or awareness of existing career pathways in construction and niche sectors like crane, rigging, and specialized transport.
"It's not that the younger generation doesn't want to work; it's that too many kids are not being shown the opportunities that exist working in the blue-collar world," said Edward Drake of Randsco Pipeline. Respondents also refer to fewer vocational classes offered at the high school level as a lack of exposure to rewarding careers.
- The stigma around blue-collar careers and training places a higher emphasis on careers that require a college degree or other advanced certificates. The report from NCCER Restoring the Dignity of Work: Transforming the U.S. Workforce Development System into a World Leader addresses this as a key factor in addressing the skilled labor gap and changing public perception of an industry that lifts and moves the world.
Research, surveys, and toolkits can be found at https://liftandmoveusa.scr-foundation.org/research-and-toolkits/