Construction Law

Bridging the Skills Gap Part 1 featured image

Bridging the Skills Gap Part 1

At Cotney Attorneys & Consultants, our Tampa construction attorneys are focused on bridging the skills gap. Any construction industry professional knows that there are simply not enough skilled workers out there to work on all of the exciting projects coming down the pipeline. With millions of workers expected to retire in the next decade, we need the next generation of talented contractors, architects, equipment operators, boilermakers, electricians, welders, masons, ironworkers, insulation workers, roofers, and construction laborers to meet the demand.

Building for the Future

In this five-part article, we are discussing ways to combat the labor shortage problem in the construction industry through effective apprenticeship programs. As you may have heard, President Donald Trump created an executive order that is designed to expand apprenticeships significantly by offering one million opportunities for young prospective workers within the next two years. If we can provide these prospective workers with the right training to prosper, they will enjoy a long, sustainable career in construction.

Redistributing Apprenticeship Programs

The politicians in Washington have acknowledged that the conventional apprenticeship programs that are federally funded and cost billions of dollars annually in taxes are simply not working as effectively as they need to be. Apprenticeship opportunities may be redistributed from some of these struggling programs into openings in the public and private sector. Regardless of your political ideology, the skills gap that exists in construction is a bipartisan issue that needs to be addressed in the present to resolve the issue of millions of skilled workers retiring from the industry in the next ten years.

Finding Solutions for the Labor Demand

In past articles series, we have informed you of why this skills gap truly does exist and why this growing problem needs to be addressed. We also informed you of the purpose of this apprenticeship initiative program; however, in this article series, we want to offer solutions to meet the labor demand. If one million apprenticeships are going to be created in the next two years within the construction sector, our Tampa construction lawyers thought it would be nice to emphasize what avenues can potentially be taken to ensure that these programs, not only effectively meet the labor demand, but elevate the construction sector to an even higher level of success than ever before.

As we will discuss throughout this series, one of the first steps in analyzing the skills gap problem is to determine where we have failed in the past and how we can alleviate these issues. If you are interested in learning more about the specific ways to bridge the skills gap, please read sections two, three, four, and five.

If you would like to speak with a Tampa construction lawyer, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.