INTRODUCTION
According to the Associated
General Contractors of
America, employment
opportunities throughout
the Construction Industry
are improving, especially in
the North Central Texas
area. Construction unemployment has
fallen sharply in the last four years,
although from April 2010 to April 2014
there was a 1,123,000 decrease in
construction employees. This in itself
indicates opportunity because it is
estimated that 674,000 construction
employees left the industry during that time
due to retirement, competition from other
industry sectors and fewer veterans
entering the industry. This has left
widespread shortages in all facets of the
industry.
The strength of the construction industry
can be found in many segments such as:
Multifamily
Manufacturing, especially
petrochemical, and oil and gas supply
Oil & gas fields
Pipelines
Warehouses
Lodging (hotels & resorts)
Rail
Data centers
Highway and Roads
Discussion with the Construction Industry
business community reflects concern that
demand for highly skilled workers is greater
than the supply.
In Texas, we have discovered a leak in the
pipeline between the numbers of students
who enter into college and the number who
exit, which results in costly loss of
expenditures and leads to a loss of skilled
workers.
Since 1987, North Central Texas InterLink
has been the leader in industry driven labor
market forecasting for the North Central
Texas region, to help influence the future of
career and technical education programs at
the secondary and post-secondary levels
which prepares students for the workforce.
This report on the future of the
Construction Industry is the third in a series
of reports produced by InterLink about
future trends in specific industries to help
guide educators and students toward the
next wave of knowledge, skills and
technologies for education programs and
practices. Previous Reports include the
future of Information Technology and
Health Care Industries. Subsequent reports
will be published identifying the future of
other industries.
We were fortunate to have Construction
Industry Partners involved with the
endeavor whose members participated as
Construction Industry Thought Leaders to
identify future trends that will affect the
industry.
This report identifies thirteen trends in the
Construction Industry to help guide
students in choosing a career and to assist
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