There’s something the modular industry doesn’t like to talk about, mostly because it’s uncomfortable and partly because no one is quite sure how to fix it.
We don’t have enough new homebuilders.
Not enough young ones.
Not enough mid-career switchers.
Not enough people raising their hand and saying, “I want to build houses for a living.”
And before anyone jumps in to say, “Builders are everywhere,” let me clarify. I’m not talking about remodelers, flippers, or developers who dabble in construction. I’m talking about people who want to start and grow a legitimate homebuilding business, especially one that uses modular construction as its core delivery method.
That group is shrinking. Fast.
Modular Needs Builders—But Builders Need a Doorway
The modular industry desperately needs more builders. Factories can add capacity. Transporters can buy trucks. Set crews can be trained. But without competent, committed builders at the front end, modular becomes an orphaned solution looking for parents.
The problem isn’t a lack of interest. It’s a lack of on-ramps.
If a 30-year-old today decides they want to become a modular homebuilder, where do they go? Not to get a contractor’s license—that’s the easy part. I mean where do they go to learn:
• how to work with modular factories
• how to manage factory schedules and site readiness
• how to sell modular without overpromising
• how to survive the first five homes without going broke
• how to handle engineering reviews, redlines, and approvals
• how to build a business, not just a house
The uncomfortable answer is: almost nowhere.
Construction Education Exists—Builder Education Mostly Doesn’t
We have plenty of construction education. Trade schools teach carpentry, electrical, HVAC. Community colleges teach construction management. Industry groups teach safety, compliance, and continuing education.
All of that is useful.
None of it teaches someone how to become a homebuilder, and certainly not a modular one.
Builder knowledge has traditionally been passed down the old-fashioned way: family businesses, apprenticeships, or learning by making expensive mistakes. That worked when builders were plentiful and forgiving margins covered a lot of sins.
That world is gone.
Today’s modular builder has to understand manufacturing logic, logistics, inspections, financing, customer psychology, and risk management—all while educating buyers who may have never seen a modular home set before.
That’s not something you pick up by accident.
The Exception That Proves the Rule
With one notable exception, the modular industry has largely shrugged at this problem.
Impresa Modular Franchise is one of the few organized efforts that openly says: we will help train you to become a modular homebuilding business.
Whether someone likes the franchise model or not, Impresa deserves credit for acknowledging a truth the rest of the industry avoids: new builders don’t magically appear fully formed.
They need structure.
They need systems.
They need guardrails.
Impresa didn’t invent modular construction, but it did recognize that if you want more modular homes built, you need more modular builders—and those builders need more than a brochure and a factory tour.
The fact that Impresa stands out so clearly also highlights the bigger problem: where is everyone else?
Factories Don’t Train Builders—and That’s Not Their Job
Factories will tell you, correctly, that they are manufacturers, not schools. They’ll train builders on their specs, processes, and requirements, but that’s not the same thing as teaching someone how to run a homebuilding business.
In fact, many factories quietly struggle with inexperienced builders who don’t understand site prep, scheduling discipline, or how change orders actually work in modular construction. That pain shows up as delays, rework, angry customers, and thin margins—for everyone.
The irony is hard to miss.
The industry complains about a shortage of good builders while doing almost nothing to create them.
Why This Is Becoming a Structural Risk
This isn’t just a workforce issue. It’s a pipeline problem.
As older builders retire, fewer new ones are stepping in to replace them. The result is predictable:
• fewer modular projects per market
• overworked, overextended builders
• factories dependent on a shrinking customer base
• innovation that stalls because there’s no one ready to implement it
At some point, capacity doesn’t matter if demand can’t be delivered.
The Myth That’s Hurting Us
Here’s the myth the industry clings to:
“If modular is good enough, builders will figure it out.”
That’s like saying, “If airplanes are good enough, pilots will just show up.”
They don’t. Pilots are trained. Structured. Licensed. Supported.
Builders are mostly left to fend for themselves.
What Real Training Would Actually Look Like
Real modular builder training wouldn’t be glamorous. It would be practical, repetitive, and brutally honest.
It would include:
• factory scheduling reality (not brochure timelines)
• how plans really get approved—and rejected
• how to freeze specs and enforce them
• how to price risk without losing the job
• how to survive the first five homes
• what usually goes wrong—and why
In other words, the stuff you only learn after you’ve paid for it once.
A Closing Thought (and a Challenge)
The modular industry loves to talk about factories, technology, automation, and scale. All important. None of it matters without builders who know how to execute.
Right now, we are consuming our builder base faster than we are replacing it.
With the exception of Impresa Modular Franchise, there is no clear, visible, industry-supported pathway for someone to say, “I want to become a modular homebuilder—teach me how.”
That should worry everyone.
Because modular doesn’t have a factory problem.
It doesn’t have a technology problem.
It has a builder pipeline problem.
And until the industry decides to own that, the future of modular will continue to depend on fewer people doing more work—and that’s not a long-term strategy.
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With more than 10,000 published articles on modular and offsite construction, Gary Fleisher remains one of the most trusted voices in the industry.
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