The world wants to be green.

And with buildings accounting for some 40 percent of U.S. energy use, Wisconsin’s construction industry is poised to capitalize onits greatest opportunity in decades. Green construction, retrofits and upgrades represent unlimited potential for Wisconsin builders. But one thing stands in the way of the industry’s economicprosperity: a labor shortage.

A combination of retiring baby boomers and difficulty attracting the next generation of workers to the trades could mean Wisconsin contractors will struggle to sustainthe sustainability movement. The dilemma led Wisconsin Builder to seek out ...

A Sustainable Solution

Why the prospect of green-collar jobs
can attract a new generation of workers

By Lawrence Silver and Dustin Block

Heather Stair knows attracting more young people to the construction industry means changing the perception of the trades.

As education coordinator for the Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee, Stair said she encounters many high-school students completely unaware of the opportunities available to them.

“Kids these days are steered toward college, and that’s it,” Stair said. “I don’t think they are always presented with other options.”

Wisconsin Builder believes marketing construction as a green industry can change the perception among young people that the building industry provides few career paths. Letting the next generation of workers know the potential effect they can have on the environment can’t hurt either.

With that in mind, Wisconsin Builder asked several in the industry if construction’s presence in the green economy could draw new workers. The response was unanimous.

“Across the board, students are getting more interested and more aware of the green economy,” said George Stone, professor of natural science at Milwaukee Area Technical College. “From a more practical standpoint, they’re realizing there will be jobs in this area.”

Stair agreed.

“The generations that are coming up right now are so much more conscious of the environment,” she said. “If you can sell it that you have all these [green] measures in place, if you can sell that you can make a difference and make a living, it’s going to hit people in a powerful way.”

But recognizing the industry’s ability to grab attention by being green isn’t enough. Wisconsin Builder wanted to figure out what contractors, schools and government could do to take advantage of a sustainable solution.

What can contractors do?

Dale Dulberger knows why the construction industry struggles to attract young people to the trades.

“The trades are looked down upon,” said Dulberger, project manager of the 21st Century Urban Technical Education Project. “[Workers in the trades] are known for using their hands and not their heads.”

Dulberger argued contractors need to do a better job giving young people public recognition for going into the trades, particularly because they are poised to have an effect on the environment.

“They could be the leaders,” Dulberger said of potential trades students. “They could show people concretely how institutions can change. They can show how we could become more energy efficient.”

Contractors large and small will need to do small things while building on what they already do if they are going to use construction’s presence in the green economy as a recruitment tool.

Along with providing public recognition, contractors should increase financial incentives for training, Dulberger said.

Also, because fewer schools offer traditional technical education, or shop classes, Dulberger said contractors should create hands-on experiences for young people.

“Perception is tied to their experiences,” he said. “Schools have closed down technical training programs. So the only thing that exposes them to the world of building, construction and design is a computer.”

Liz Elvin, director of work force development for AGC, said the national organization already is considering different ways to expose young people to green construction.

Elvin said AGC staff recently discussed creating a green-building workbook for career academies. The book would integrate information on the what, how and why of green building with math and English exercises.

Elvin said the AGC plans to form a task force to help author the book. The national organization likely will turn to Wisconsin contractors to join the committee, she said, because of the state’s leadership in organizing career academies.

“We need young people to come into the industry,” Elvin said. “If we can leverage the fact we build sustainable, long-term, energy-efficient buildings — if that’s a way to get young people excited about the industry — I’m all for it.”

Tom Thayer, chief executive officer and president of Tri-North Builders, Fitchburg, said green building already helps the construction industry market itself to customers. It makes sense then, he said, that sustainable design could draw young people into the trades.

“My gut reaction is this doesn’t hurt recruitment to the industry,” Thayer said of green building. “Anything that brings our industry to the forefront on the environmental side helps. Our industry is not just people digging ditches. It’s not as simple as the lay person thinks.”

What can schools do?

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Jeffrey Russell said students are definitely drawn to the green economy.

“I find that a number of these students are ahead of the curve and ahead of society on this whole issue of insufficient and dwindling natural resources,” said Russell, who is the chairman of the school’s civil and environmental engineering program. “I think they are motivated to think about, from an engineering, construction and architectural perspective, how we are going to respond to that. They want to deal with these major challenges we’re faced with.”

As more baby boomers reach retirement, Wisconsin’s building community will undoubtedly draw from the state’s universities and high schools to replenish the talent pool.

Today’s young people are more conscious of the environment than perhaps any generation before them, Stair said.

So perhaps, said Jeff Johnson, vice president of human resources and risk management for Appleton-based Oscar J. Boldt Construction, schools can attract students to the trades by creating an awareness of how the construction field affects the environment.

“What (awareness) does is it gets them very excited about contributing to the greater cause,” Johnson said. “It’s really about why this is more exciting than just the technical task.”

Tim Kippenhan, vice president of Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, said schools also should listen to private industry when devising new curriculums.

He said green-building techniques are relatively new and require a huge learning process for everyone in the field, and private industry can lead students to skills that are going to be in high demand.

Kippenhan said he saw the positive influence industry can have on schools. His boss, David Voss Jr., president of Miron, serves on a construction advisory committee for the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Voss said the committee meets a couple times a year to discuss what’s hot, and therefore has to be in the curriculum, and what’s not, and should be taken out.

“We can get things changed within one semester,” Voss said. “They really listen to the industry folks. It really works out well.”

Greg Kempen, a senior project architect with Eppstein Uhen Architects, Milwaukee, said strong green educational programs ultimately translate to the real world.

Kempen said he sees many graduates push senior architects to rethink how they’re designing buildings.

“It’s definitely being driven from the bottom up,” Kempen said of green building.

“From what I’m seeing, the older, more senior people are having to revisit how they view buildings.”

What can government do?

Sarah White said she believes green jobs can invigorate Wisconsin’s economy.

But she’s cautious in her optimism.

White co-authored “Greener Pathways,” a report that explores economic and work force development opportunities in three leading industries: energy efficiency, wind and biofuels. The report also highlights federal resources that support state green jobs initiatives. It concludes by outlining a plan of action for state policymakers.

The report states the green economy could help Wisconsin, but only if Wisconsin’s workers learn the right skills.

White said schools, governments and businesses are rushing to create training programs to prepare for the green economy. If they’re not careful though, she said they could train workers for jobs that will never exist.

White said governments need to conduct regional labor market studies to gauge what green jobs are available and what skills workers need to fill those jobs. The studies are important because different regions in the state have different needs, she said.

“You have to make sure when you set up green jobs that they’re tied with employers and very specifically demand-driven,” White said. “You have to know there are employers in the region connected to jobs they’re being trained for.”

She added that government needs to ensure any investment in training for green jobs should result in high-paying jobs with benefits.

“For example, if government gives an economic subsidy to a company for green jobs,” White said, “they have to agree to pay prevailing wages.”