by Michael McDonagh
Michael McDonagh
When reading news about development in Boston and the surrounding region, you are left with the impression that all the construction happening is in new construction. Take a walk around Boston or take a drive up and down Route 128 and see for yourself: New construction is everywhere. Let’s see what happens to the largest transportation hub in the city when ground breaks soon on a new glass tower that will rise out of the middle of South Station. Beyond office space, we are continually reminded how many units of housing are needed in Greater Boston in the next decade to allow us to sustain our workforce. At the same time, however, construction is very busy in renovation world, keeping up with tenant demands for more amenities and better space. We’ve often said that more than 80% of the work on any given construction project is performed by subcontractors but how can construction companies keep up with the labor demands in this market?
Whether it is new construction or renovation of existing building stock, there is one constant: We need to do more to encourage the next generation of workers to consider the trades. There are many skilled trade jobs that offer very good pay and benefits. Credit the Baker administration for recently taking a step in the right direction on this issue. The administration recently launched the “Career Technical Initiative,” which aimed to provide training to an additional 20,000 skilled trade workers over the next four years to help meet of needs of construction companies. The plan is to work with municipalities, employers, and school districts to provide more training opportunities by increased access to vocational schools. Reports in the media last year found a shortage of seats at vocational schools, many with wait lists. To fund the initiative, the administration has proposed $15 million in its 2021 fiscal budget which still needs to be debated in the House and Senate later this spring and summer. We hope the House and Senate approve funding.
Beyond providing good paying jobs and relieving some of our younger generation of the heavy burden of student loans, jobs in the trades provide a rewarding career and enjoy a high employment rate. Dodge Construction Outlook is predicting a -4% decline in construction starts from 2019 activity. While that is an overall national estimate, they note that certain geographic areas, Greater Boston included, may not be as strongly impacted as other regions. This combined with the current low unemployment means a constant search for more skilled tradespeople. Encouraging the next generation to consider a job in the trades needs to be a front-burner issue.
Michael McDonagh is CEO of Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts.
