August 31, 2026
MORE INFO: Build the Workforce Your Business and Community Will Need
The construction labor shortage is not something contractors can solve by waiting for more qualified applicants to appear. One practical approach is to start developing talent earlier by building relationships with local high schools, technical programs, and community colleges.
That does not require creating a full apprenticeship program from scratch. A contractor can start small and give students exposure to real construction careers while helping educators understand the skills employers actually need.
Ways to get involved include:
- Invite a construction or trades class to visit one of your jobsites.
- Volunteer to speak to students about careers in construction.
- Offer internships, summer jobs, job shadowing, or work-based learning opportunities.
- Help instructors understand the skills and technologies being used on today’s jobsites.
- Demonstrate resilient construction practices such as stronger roofing systems, water management, wind-resistant connections, wildfire-resistant materials, and proper installation techniques.
- Donate leftover materials or equipment that students can use for hands-on training.
- Identify promising students early and give them a clear pathway from the classroom to employment.
Business impact
Developing relationships with schools gives you access to potential employees before they enter the broader labor market. Students can learn your expectations for safety, workmanship, communication, and quality early. Over time, that can create a more reliable recruiting pipeline while strengthening your reputation as an employer that invests in its people.
It can also change the way young people view construction. A student who sees modern tools, technology, building science, drones, resilient construction, and real career advancement may see an industry they had never previously considered.
Community impact
A skilled local construction workforce is part of a community’s disaster preparedness. After a hurricane, wildfire, flood, tornado, or other major event, communities can suddenly need enormous amounts of qualified construction labor. Having trained workers already living in the region can help contractors scale more effectively and support faster, safer rebuilding.
There is also an opportunity to introduce resilience principles before young workers develop their professional habits. If the next generation understands why correct installation, stronger building practices, mitigation, and building codes matter, those practices can become part of how they approach construction throughout their careers.
A practical starting point: Contact one local high school, technical school, or community college this week. Ask for the person responsible for construction trades, career and technical education, or workforce development. You do not need to propose an entire program. Offer a jobsite visit, classroom presentation, or conversation about what local contractors need from tomorrow’s workforce.
A resilient community needs people who know how to build and rebuild it. Contractors are in a unique position to help develop those people.
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