Four ways to find construction craft workers and professionals

According to the AGC 2015 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, 76 percent of responding construction firms report having a hard time finding qualified craft workers, while 62 percent report difficulty in filling key professional positions. In particular, it’s difficult to find supervisors, project managers, carpenters, roofers, equipment operators, and plumbers.

Sound familiar? It’s a whole new ball game these days when it comes to finding qualified workers and that includes the services you use to connect with potential employees. Here are a few construction-focused sources I’ve heard of that may be worth trying (let me know your thoughts on these and other sources you’d recommend):

• Work Hands is a social media network that is for skilled workers that are in the construction and manufacturing industries. The purpose of the website is to better connect employers with skilled workers in the United States.
• The Hiring Heroes Program is a nationwide initiative sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Its goal is to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities. In June 2014 the AGC partnered with the Hiring Heroes Program as part of an effort to add 100,000 veterans to the construction workforce in the next 5 years.
• Build Your Future offers a variety of employment events across the country that contractors can participate in to connect with the military talent pool.
• ConstructionJobs.com is an employment job board and resume database built exclusively for the construction, design, and building industries.

Of course it is also important to connect to your local schools to restart, help build, and tap into their vocational training programs. Today’s skilled worker shortage won’t be short lived. In response, many contractors are looking ahead at how to engage with younger students now to build their workforce of tomorrow.