October is Careers in Construction month which shines a spotlight on the opportunities and recognizes the professionals working in the residential construction industry. Everyone who is looking for a career change, who is seeking a better and lucrative alternative to a 4-year college degree, or is simply interested in a new challenge should strongly consider a career in residential construction.
A career in construction is more than just wearing a hard hat and steel-toed boots. It provides a sense of personal achievement but it also provides many practical benefits such as strong earning potential, job security and opportunities for advancement.
Although October is officially Careers in Construction Month, you can choose any month, week, or day that works for you. Ongoing efforts are important to achieving the goal of increasing the number of construction professionals in your area.
The Offsite and Modular housing industry needs to become more proactive in promoting the careers available to not only young people but to everyone looking to change careers or reenter the workforce.
Occupations such as carpentry, plumbers and HVAC technicians are in high demand. These positions require individuals who have skills such as technical and computer skills, being detail-oriented and being an active problem-solver who enjoys troubleshooting a wide range of problems and challenges.
The top 25% in most construction trades professions earn at least $60,000 annually. And you don’t need to follow the traditional college path to get there. The gender pay gap is smaller in the construction trades.
On average, women in the United States earn 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. Women in the construction industry earn 97 cents for every dollar a man earns.
What can you do to make “Careers in Construction” happen every month in your factory?
First, you need to realize that simply putting out help wanted signs and holding mass interviews isn’t working anymore. The shortage of labor in our factories began long before Covid-19 and Delta Variant became the popular excuse why we can’t get workers.
Next, you have to invite high school students to walk through your assembly, your engineering departments and even through your sales and marketing departments. This can be done through your local school’s guidance departments who can help you promote it.
When giving tours to students, make sure you address their needs for security, teamwork and encourage them to visit your factory at later dates to talk ‘one on one’ with people in the jobs you need filled. Be honest with them. They want to learn more about what’s available for them when they graduate and giving them the opportunity to meet your people, visit your factory after the tour and maybe even open up some apprenticeships could help fill your factory with strong candidates for those jobs you’ve been trying to fill.
Now, do the same thing for adults looking to reenter the workforce. Have tours of your factory while it’s working for groups of men and women that may never have thought working in the offsite and modular industry was even an option available to them.
Offer them the same opportunity to visit your factory after the tour and meet the people they could be working with just as soon as they are hired.
Consider bringing in an experienced marketing group to help you set up your program, market it to high school students and adults looking to return to work or change careers and have them design a tour for each group.
Don’t just open your factory for a tour and then wait for someone to want to apply for a job. Be proactive. Begin making an effort to do more than just showing people what you build. Show them how they could have a career in construction with your company.
Related Articles:
- Ohio Builder Starts Training And Apprentice Program To Meet Labor Demand
- Construction’s Labor Shortage Has Been With Us Long Before The Pandemic
- Women Continue To Be The Key To Offsite Construction’s Labor Shortage
Gary Fleisher is the Managing Editor for the Modular Home Coach blog. Email at [email protected]
