Where Has Everyone Gone?
I recently needed to have some work done on my home. It was nothing major - I just needed to have some dry-rotted wood removed and a door rehung. I called a residential contractor who had come highly recommended to me. He said that it would be about 2 months before he could come out and give me a quote and another two months before he could get me on his schedule. Wow! That was not the lead time I expected. But I suppose I should not be so surprised. Last fall, I needed to have the drainage in my yard rerouted, and the landscaper’s lead time was similar.
Looking beyond my own little projects, long lead times and labor shortages are becoming the norm. The construction industry is facing a labor shortage, and the situation is expected to worsen in the coming years. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the industry will need to hire an additional 546,000 workers on top of normal annual hiring in 2023 to keep pace with construction demand. With construction demand remaining strong, filling these roles for skilled tradespeople is essential to support America's economy and infrastructure initiatives [1].
The labor shortage is particularly concerning, given the demographics of the industry. Nearly one in four construction workers are over 55 years old, and retirement will continue to chip away at the construction workforce. This shortage has led to long lead times and delays in construction projects, which in turn increases costs. It is essential for the industry to find solutions to attract new talent and retain experienced workers to ensure that it can continue to meet the demand for construction projects in the coming years [1].
With nearly two decades of experience in the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of the growing construction labor shortage. However, on the design side - architecture and engineering, we face a slightly different challenge of retaining young talent. While firms are able to attract new professionals, many struggle to keep them on board for the long term.
According to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the retention rate for architects in the United States is just 80%. This is significantly lower than the average retention rate across other professions, which is around 90%. [2] Anecdotally, two of my architect friends left the profession to open a great farm-to-table restaurant together. Another architect I worked with shifted to urban planning instead of traditional architecture. Different people are drawn away by different things, but the common result is a loss to the profession.
On the engineering front, The Structural Engineering Association of Northern California (SEAONC) launched the Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity (SE3) Project in 2015 to understand why people are leaving the profession. The project conducted a survey in 2018 with 2,925 current and former structural engineers responding. The results of the survey are compiled into a 58-page report (linked at the bottom of this post if you are interested), and one key statistic stood out to me. Overall career satisfaction was 78%, but for respondents who reported having a mentor, satisfaction with one’s career increased to 84% [3].
What a difference a little coaching along the way can make in someone’s career! This is something that I have experienced personally from both sides of the mentorship relationship. Early in my engineering career, I found a couple of incredible informal mentors - one who mentored me in my technical development and another who mentored me in the soft skills needed to navigate the industry. They changed the landscape of my career and contributed to my still being in the industry today. The AEC industry can be a bit overwhelming to navigate for young professionals - from workplace culture to the interfaces between design and the job site, to navigating the project permitting process. Knowing what a difference mentoring made in my life, and wanting to see young professionals be successful, I took it upon myself to mentor many of my younger colleagues.
6 months ago, I joined Reframe Systems. When I look at the workforce challenges facing the industry today, I know Reframe will have a positive impact on the situation. Leveraging automation and robotics is one of our key goals. This can help address the design side challenges in two ways. First, with automation, we can help solve the labor shortage by multiplying our team productivity. Secondly, desiring more career opportunities and feeling a lack of engagement are cited as retention challenges both for architects and engineers. The adoption of automation presents an opportunity to tackle these challenges head-on. By integrating design and automation, we open up new avenues for career advancement, providing professionals with exciting opportunities to develop their skills and take on more fulfilling roles. Moreover, this integration brings about a fresh and invigorating challenge, increasing workplace engagement as we embark on a transformative journey that combines creativity and technological innovation. By embracing this shift, we have the potential to reinvigorate employee engagement and create a workforce that is motivated by the dynamic and evolving nature of our industry.
On the construction side, Reframe is contributing to the solution with a multi-pronged approach. By prefabricating volumetric modules in an automated factory, we are addressing the skilled labor shortage by leveraging robots to increase productivity. We will never have a successful factory without a great core team of skilled tradespeople, and we can help this team by setting up our workstations to be more ergonomic than what would be done on-site, and we can bring the majority of the effort into a factory setting and out of the harsh elements.
Addressing the labor challenges facing the AEC industry will require a collective effort. We have no quick fix to the issue. However, every company within the industry can play a part, no matter how big or small. Personally, I am committed to seeking out innovative solutions and mentoring the next generation of professionals. If you are also part of the AEC industry, I encourage you to explore ways you can contribute to the solution. And to those who are already doing their part, I extend my gratitude and appreciation. Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient industry for the future.
We are hiring across a range of roles in software, hardware, architecture, development, manufacturing, construction project management, and field operations. If you are interested in helping Reframe grow, visit our job board for active postings.
References:
[1] Construction Workforce Shortage Tops Half a Million in 2023, Says ABC | News Releases
[2] AIA 2019 Firm Survey
[3] 2018 Survey Report by the NCSEA SE3 Committee http://www.ncsea.com/downloads/files//Committees/SE3/NCSEA%202018%20Study%20Report_final.pdf