We're Not Training Our Youth to Enter Construction

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Published September 19th, 2017

Who Are Construction Workers Today?

Construction is an industry that is relying heavily on migrant forces to help ensure that there are enough workers to keep the construction industry afloat. Fewer Americans are entering the job force as more and more prefer air-conditioned office jobs than hard work like construction. This raises massive concerns as the migration crisis seems to have come to a boiling point in the US as of late.

For example, in Arizona, about 75% of companies are having problems filling all of the construction positions that they have available. Nationally that percentage is at a staggering 70%.

What Can Be Done?

One of the vital steps to ensuring the future of American construction and our economy is to ensure that we have a way to make immigration for construction workers more easy to obtain. If today's immigrants were to be deported or not allowed to work in the construction industry, the economy in the US would be stalled by a lack of new construction. Ultimately, there must be a way to allow immigrants working in construction throughout the US to become legal citizens without fear or penalty or punishment.

A second and equally critical step is to get rid of the stereotype that construction work is receiving today in the US. Today, many people in the US view construction as a dirty, filthy job. They don't want their children going into that field or line of work. They want "better" for their children. What a lot of these people don't realize is that trade schools that teach any sort of work from heating & air conditioning to electrical work or plumbing or even roofing can actually pay very well. Many of these jobs offer better pay than the "desk" jobs that their children are taking. Moreover, it's a very secure field of work as there is always something being built somewhere.

Consider the US Population:

It's also worth noting that more migrant workers should be considered for entry into the US to help fill our construction of laborers as our population ages. The overall average age of the American citizen is climbing upward and as people get older they are not no longer able to do this kind of work. Bringing in people who are able and willing to work in a legal way will help provide the construction industry the labor it needs. It will keep our economy humming along into the future.

Unless you are willing and encouraging your children to go into the construction industry migrant workers are the only way that the construction labor shortage will be fixed in Arizona and across the entire US.

Comments

James

This whole article is a lie from hell

Posted On: September 28th, 2017

Ken Filips

There are some gross misconceptions perpetrated in this article. Why don't we mention pre-apprenticeship programs for interested american high school students? Why do HS career counselors continuing to spread the lie that construction jobs are undesirable, dirty, and low paying? As an example of the ignorance of this article, in Portland OR an 18 year old high school graduate can attend a 4-year electrical apprenticeship program, having no previous construction experience, and after the 4 years of evening classes can graduate as a Journeyman Electrician making $40+ per hour...with NO STUDENT LOAN to pay off. In fact, during the four years of evening classes (2 nights per week for a total of six hours per week) the student works full time as an apprentice for good pay, usually starting around $14 per hour with graduated pay increases along the way. And again, most career counselors don't provide any information about apprenticeship programs or trade schools. Even though there is a shortage of electricians career counselors continue to try to shoe-horn all students through the 4-year university path in which many graduates are stuck with a huge student loan to pay off, a useless degree, and sometimes a drinking problem from all the frat parties.

Posted On: September 28th, 2017

Ken Filips

This article does nothing more than perpetrate the lie that Americans are not willing to work as tradesmen and that more immigration will fix everything. This is just a pro-immigration message that furthers the myth that only uneducated immigrants who are granted special privileges to enter the country can fill the need for construction jobs. Why give away good, high-paying American jobs to non-Americans? This is either a propaganda piece or the author did an extremely poor job researching facts for the article. Please stop spreading this lie.

Posted On: September 28th, 2017

Barbara E. Kannegaard

The construction industry in our small rural community can't rely on migrant workers like larger cities (Phoenix or Tucson) to fill our need for competent laborers so our community college/high school(s) are encouraging students to enter the vocational program to fill that need. We need to stop the stereotyping trend that vocational programs/trade schools and the physical labor involved is a "dirty job". Listen to what Mike Rowe has been trying to tell Washington for years--we need our vocational trades and to stop pushing every young person toward a college education that doesn't give them the employment opportunities they want or need. Hard work is what our young people of today need to have a fulfilling life. The good ol' US of A was built on manual labor and there is nothing dirty about it; it can be a rewarding career opportunity if we take away the stigma that hard work is dirty work.

Posted On: September 28th, 2017

Richard Smith

Work Visas, Pay Taxes, Learn English, No Criminal Activity/Convictions, Community Service, ASSIMILATION. Then they will have earned the privilege of being an American.

Posted On: September 28th, 2017

Jack

I think I can agree to most of this.