As the years' progress, commercial projects will continue to increase in size. The Colosseum, one of the most famous stadiums, was built in 80 AD and could hold 50,000 people. Due to the standards of construction procedures and the lack of qualified construction workers, estimators, technicians, etc., it is predicted that The Colosseum fell because of natural disasters, such as lightning and earthquakes. Luckily, construction and education have seemingly advanced since then. Now, we have the capacity and skill level to build and construct projects that can hold 114,000 people.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for construction managers is expected to increase between the years 2016-2026 because some “are expected to retire or leave the occupation in substantial numbers over the next decade.” Thus, leaving multiple job openings that hiring managers of several construction companies will need to fill. The search for highly qualified, educated, and dedicated workers continue. The pool of candidates in the commercial HVAC and Plumbing industry is relatively large but having the time to sift through multiple prospects and decide if a candidate is skilled enough to fill such roles is difficult. Additionally, Dominick Guarino of the Contracting Business also reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the HVAC industry field will have a significant decrease of HVAC Technicians and will need about 330,000 roles filled.
How can these decreases be combatted?
1. Know your workers. Track your employees and be prepared for when a worker retires by having a pool of candidates to replace them. Try construction recruiting teams, as they are versed in finding the best candidates to fill roles.
2. Train your existing workers so they have the knowledge to grow within your company. You can turn your assistant project managers into project managers and so forth.
3. Expect the unexpected. Anticipate a fluctuation in the market and be prepared for a surplus of workers while also for lack of workers. Can your company withstand the climate of a wavering field?
4. Keep your workers happy. It’s always important to be stern in running a company. But, you don’t want your workers to feel negatively towards you because the projects take a hit as a consequence. Be firm, but fair while also creating healthy relationships with each worker.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. “Occupational Outlook Handbook, Construction Managers.” https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/construction-managers.htm. Accessed 9 October 2018.
Guarino, Dominick. “HVAC Industry in Crisis: How Do We Stop the Bleeding?” https://www.contractingbusiness.com/residential-hvac/hvac-industry-crisis-how-do-we-stop-bleeding. Accessed 9 October 2018.
History.com Editors. “Colosseum.” https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum. Accessed 9 October 2018.