ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997 TAG: 9703290006
SECTION: TODAY'S HOMES PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
In July 1995, a group met at the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association (RRHBA) office to find out if the perceived shortage of qualified tradesmen in the construction industry was true. The July 1996 issue of ``Builder'' discussed a labor shortage in home building, and characterized it as ``the ever-shrinking supply of skilled construction labor.''
``Once we got together, we found out there is a shortage of skilled workers,'' says Joe Miller of E.J. Miller Construction Co. Inc. in Salem, a builder of custom homes, and immediate past president of RRHBA.
Through studies, discussion and surveys, the group found that the shortage was real.
The group consists of concerned RRHBA members, representatives of Virginia Western Community College, the Fifth District Employment & Training Consortium, local technical and vocational schools and the Virginia Employment Commission. This group informally calls itself the Labor Shortage Coalition.
Though it discovered a shortage of qualified workers in many trades, including masonry, plumbing, sheet metal and electrical, the group decided to concentrate on recruiting and training individuals as carpenters.
``Construction is hard work, but the days of digging with picks and shovels are over,'' Miller says. The industry is automated and now uses mechanical equipment.
The coalition wants to educate the public, particularly high school students and recent college graduates, about today's industry.
Miller explains construction is not a dead-end or last-resort career. Working in the industry requires time and training to develop trade skills, and it helps if the trainee has an aptitude for the type of work required, such as working with one's hands and being able to figure things out.
"It is a project-oriented career," Miller says. "You see the project from start to finish and get satisfaction from it. You can look at it and say 'we did that.'"
Many jobs such as working in a warehouse or assembly line are the same all of the time. You finish one order and start the next one. Construction is diverse and each project is unique. Miller says that construction ranges from volume builders of first-time buyer homes to high-end custom building of homes to commercial building.
Miller says that most local owners of small building contractors in this valley "came up through the ranks" - from carpenters' helper, foreman to superintendent, then they started their own companies.
The response to a survey of RRHBA members indicated carpenters are the largest group in demand now, and almost certainly, in the future. Additionally, builder members of the coalition indicated a desire for continuing education for their current employees.
After 14 months of planning, the coalition met in September 1996 and Mike Byrd of VWCC announced that everything was ready for the community college to offer accredited courses in carpentry beginning in January 1997.
Carpentry I, Carpentry II, Blue Print Reading and the Building Code are offered, and additional courses will be offered each semester for two years, totaling 28 credits. Upon satisfactory completion of each course, a certificate of completion will be issued. Eventually, the coalition hopes the program will offer associate degrees. VWCC professors teach the theoretical side of courses, but local skilled workers from RRHBA provide practical training - how the skills are actually put to use on the job. For example, the Masonry Association sends journeyman to teach masonry skills. In Carpentry I, students are taught how to read a carpenter's square, how to lay off a set of stairs, how to layout a house (locate doors and walls), and how to cut a roof system.
A National Association of Home Builders survey confirms serious labor shortages and reveals widespread concern among builders about the quality of available labor.
Why is there a shortage of construction labor? Most studies conclude that long-term demographic and cultural trends are the basic problems and stress solutions such as training and education and development of more positive relationships between builders and subcontractors.
NAHB surveyed 433 builders in September 1996 about the availability, cost and quality of construction workers. Labor shortages were reported by large and small builders in all regions of the country. Framing crews, carpenters, roofers and bricklayers were in particularly short supply, according to a majority of the builders surveyed. The problem was most evident in relatively strong markets in the South and Midwest regions.
Builders who reported labor shortages also reported higher labor costs compared to the same time last year. Ninety-five percent also complained about the quality of labor, and many builders commented that ``today's workers are tradesmen,'' or that ``we've been having to train everyone we hire. There is a serious shortage of true craftsmen across the country."
To cope with this problem, nearly half of the builders are delaying construction, and most of them are also raising hourly wages or paying more for overtime. More than one-third are hiring inexperienced or untrained workers.
The shortage of quality labor in the construction industry reflects cyclical tightness in the total construction sector and in the overall economy as well. The unemployment rate in construction has fallen to the lowest level since the early 1970s, and the nation's unemployment rate has receded to an historic low as well.
``The potential career path is that you can advance within the trade or go out on your own,'' Miller says. ``There are few professions where you can do this. In construction, it is still obtainable.''
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