Construction Corner

Industry must replenish its labor pool

By Ernie Wittwer

Sometimes it's difficult for those of us who have spent careers dealing with issues of concrete and steel to remember that materials and the machines that place them do not build things.

People build things. Engineers, technicians, skilled tradesmen and lots of others use the materials and machines, and nothing would happen without people.

We would do well to begin thinking more about people for a number of reasons. First, the work force in transportation is aging. Second, not enough of our young people are choosing technical fields, so the future supply of workers will be limited. Third, our work force is changing. And fourth, the skills needed to be effective in building, maintaining and operating a transportation system are becoming more complex. These four items point to a major human resource gap in transportation and, most likely, the rest of the construction industry within the next decade.

If you are my age, you know the impact the baby boom generation had on the work force. We made hiring very easy for many years. Our numbers were huge. We got used to being one of 150 applicants for an entry-level professional job. Many of us were hired by transportation agencies or private firms doing work for transportation agencies. And now we are starting to retire. In the next decade, somewhere in the range of 40 percent of the transportation work force will reach retirement age.

Not only is the generation that follows the baby boomers much smaller, it's opting for careers in fields other than engineering and the technical disciplines that have traditionally supplied the transportation work force.

Young people tend not to choose math and science in middle and high schools. When they get to college without much remedial work, they don't even have the option of moving into an area that requires math and science.

Our young people also reflect the changing composition of our population. In many ways, we are again a nation of immigrants. The Hispanic and Asian segments of the population are growing much more quickly than the total population. The black population is growing more rapidly than the traditional white majority.

Nationally, nearly half of the people entering the work force by 2008 will be members of minor-ity groups. In Wisconsin, minority populations will grow from about 11 percent to about 15 percent over the next decade. If the transportation and construction communities are to compete for workers in the future, they will have to make those minority groups welcome and ensure that these workers have the skills needed.

What are the skills these workers will need? We will need engineers, planners and computer scientists. We will need public administrators, economists, electrical engineers and statisticians.

Moreover, workers in each of these groups, and many others, will need a very broad and integrated set of skills. They will need some familiarity with all of the fields listed. They will have to understand how public policy is made. They will have to be good communicators. They will have to manage large budgets and get complex projects completed on time. They will need these skills because our society is demanding that they have them.

Our tasks are very basic. Provide role models for students in middle and high schools to interest them in science and math so they have the option to pursue engineering and similar fields. Develop college courses that help students gain the broad view and the broad skills needed (and try not to make students spend more than fours years getting a bachelor's degree). Provide continuing education programs to let transportation workers broaden and enhance their skills over their careers. And make our workplaces attractive to all potential employees.

All of this seems like a very tall order, but it can and must be done.