Construction firms offer hands-on training, apprenticeships to attract young workers

Alabama’s construction industry, like much of the rest of the nation’s, is having a hard time finding enough qualified workers to fill their staffing needs, construction trade association representatives say. The shortage is leading to increased costs, extended schedules, and project delays impacting both businesses and consumers.

According to the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America’s national 2024 Workforce Survey, 94% of construction companies had openings for craft workers, such as cement masons and electricians, and 85% for salaried work, including superintendent and project manager positions.

That’s even though skilled construction jobs pay well. Average hourly earnings in the construction industry are $31.83, according to Go Build Alabama, a public-private partnership among the state of Alabama and industry trade groups.

One of the biggest obstacles, according to the national AGC survey analysis, is an educational system that often pushes high school students toward a college degree rather than promoting the option of developing hands-on skills through available career technical education programs within their schools’ systems.

Four times as many federal dollars are invested in leading students toward four-year degrees than supporting workforce development for fields such as construction, the survey report noted.

“Unfortunately, too few high school students are made aware of the potential benefits of pursuing a career in construction,” says Byron McCain, who leads summer student boot camps to help generate interest in construction for the Alabama AGC.

On the bright side, several Alabama workforce development initiatives, including McCain’s, could help lessen Alabama’s construction workforce shortfall. Efforts to create additional training opportunities and lure talent to the field are essential, industry experts say. “Demand for more skilled workers will continue as our construction workforce ages out and must be replenished,” says Mark Maddox, vice president of Robins & Morton, and last year’s chairman of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Alabama.

Mac Caddell, president and CEO of Caddell Construction, and last year’s president of the Alabama AGC, agrees with Maddox. “Staffing is an ongoing challenge for all of us in the industry, and we have to work together to address it,” he says.

Programs such as ABC’s Academy of Craft Training and AGC’s summer construction bootcamp are part of the industry’s drive to help interest students in potential construction employment and develop foundational skills. Local career technical education initiatives, including innovative, state-of-the-art programs such as Hoover School System’s Riverchase Career Connection Center (RC3) and Baldwin County’s Baldwin Preparatory Academy, are also praised and supported by trade associations.

One of the most recent workforce development efforts by state construction trade groups is AGC’s summer boot camp program, funded by a grant from the Construction Craft Training Board. Led by AGC’s McCain, the program was created to help familiarize high school students with potential employment opportunities in non-residential construction. “This program is geared toward reaching students beyond those who are participating in career technical education,” McCain says.

This past summer the AGC camps drew 48 students from Chilton, St. Clair and Walker counties. They were held in each county’s career technical center and center instructors provided much of the training.

“The boot camp was comprised of eight four-hour classes focused on various trades with hands-on projects, so students used the tools of a trade,” McCain says. “On the final day of the camp, construction companies interviewed students for potential employment.”

Because of the program’s success, AGC is planning boot camps in the same three counties plus Shelby next summer. McCain hopes to host 80 participants plus add more construction employers to the camp job fair roster. “This program gave AGC the chance to build stronger relationships with the career technical programs and provide more contractor involvement with each program,” McCain says.

The Academy of Craft Training (ACT), sponsored by ABC and other public-private partners, kicked off in 2016 and has expanded since then to serve 750 students each year, says Mark McCord, director of employment and workforce development at ACT. The model program started in Birmingham and now has campuses in Mobile since 2022 and Decatur since 2023. Students from more than 70 metro-area high schools are provided with hands-on training and a pipeline to commercial/industrial construction careers. The academy is looking to add a fourth metro area in Alabama over time.

The 750 students who are accepted into the program currently attend their local academy center for a half day during their school day five days per week, earning high school credits. They take math as well as trade classes within their welding/pipefitting, building construction, HVAC, electrical or interior/exterior finishes tracks. “They also learn soft skills, including being on time to work and how to apply for a job,” McCord says. “A percentage of our graduating students go into the military or on to college, but so far we have been able to place everyone who wants a job right after graduation.”

Internships with industry partners are available to academy students during holidays, the summer and other off hours, which provides students with on-the-job training, an introduction to various types of construction projects, and income. “Students have the opportunity to see whether a certain job fits them and are excited to get a paycheck for their work,” McCord says.

Hoover’s RC3 career technical program, launched in 2019, includes a Construction Science Academy, led by Director Shane Nabors. The academy was created in association with a partnership with AGC. The trade association helped furnish equipment, including construction equipment simulators and other resources as well as consulting on the design of facilities and identifying instructors. “AGC stepped in and got us rolling,” Nabors says.

The academy provides Hoover’s two high schools and Homewood High School’s career technical education in building construction, carpentry, electrical, HVAC, practical welding and heavy equipment operation. The construction science curriculum allows for dual enrollment of students at Jefferson State Community College. “This program opens so many job opportunities and career paths to the students,” Nabors says. “It’s rewarding to see them growing and thriving.”

Alabama seems to be on a roll with career education as this school year, yet another stand-out career technical center opened, the Baldwin Preparatory Academy with several construction-related study tracks, notes Rob Middleton, president of Middleton Construction, based in Mobile.

Baldwin County’s new $92 million academy, located in Loxley, includes courses in project management, framing, building inspection, dry wall, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and welding. “It’s wonderful to see more local involvement and investment in construction workforce development,” says Middleton, who served as chairman of the board of the Alabama AGC last year.

Even with all the recent workforce development efforts, construction companies must still focus on attracting, developing and retaining their own workers. Caddell Construction, for example, provides its managers with intensive training on a yearly basis and has sought managerial employees from non-traditional venues. Retired military and police officers have been tapped.

“We’re all trying to keep the good employees we have as well as seeking new talent,” Caddell says. “With challenges like we are facing in construction, you’ve got to think outside the box.”

Kathy Hagood is a Homewood-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

This article appears in the February 2025 issue of Business Alabama.