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It's An Image Problem

8/22/2017

5 Comments

 
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Contributed by Thad Goodman
​This site wants to Fix Construction. We could debate for years if it’s even broken. But for the sake of positive momentum, let’s say everything can use improvement.
 
Problem:  Labor.

One of the bigger issues we have currently is labor. Or should I say a lack of it. Let’s work on that.  
 
First let’s examine how we got here. If you don’t know where you are at, you will never figure out how to get where you are going.
 
For decades construction has been relegated to second tier citizenship.
  • Want to succeed? Go to College! 
  • Can’t cut school work? Well, you are probably one of “those people” who should just go out into the “workplace” and not expect much from life. 
  • Little Jimmy didn’t score high enough on his Iowa Basics Test? His parents were told the best he could hope for was a “trade’s job” and he’d get by.
So, we have an image problem. Construction work is grunt work.  Dirty, unbecoming grunt work. That’s the message we’ve heard for decades.
 
Who’s Talking?

Think about who is delivering this message. College educated guidance counselors. Our youth and their parents are being given directions to learning institutions by people who came out of, and make their living from - you guessed it - learning institutions.

I don’t blame them for the way they think. It worked for them. There are many, many good white collar professions out there, including architects and engineers. These counselors are trained to see things a certain way, rewarded by school systems who tout their graduation rates and college admission numbers. They are good at their jobs. I do blame them for not presenting both sides of the story to parents who trust and listen to them.
 
The Rest of the Story

There is a second option. Construction provides a better outlet for many who are just not interested in continued schoolwork.  Not everyone is cut out to sit at a desk. There are those who are good with their hands, good with abstract problem solving in real time. Pushing this type of young person to college and deep into college debt often hurts that individual and our economy. How many young people do you know buried in student loans working at the local retail mall?

Our school systems are good at rating the skillsets of our young people. Let’s give them a solid set of options for each type of student.
​Solution

Let’s raise construction as an option in the eyes of the world.
When I say - Let’s - I mean Let us!
We are a dominant workforce. The numbers of people who make their living in the Built Environment is huge. Our industry can gain ground quickly if each of us starts getting out into our schools and our communities to talk about what we do and how we feel about it. Talk to parents to educate them on the opportunities of getting right into the workplace, learning a trade, getting educated in an Industry.

This message is important. Each of us can:
  • Ask to speak at the local high school or parent teacher meeting
  • Host a Junior High School hands-on day
  • Set up a BIG MACHINES day at the local elementary school with some Tonka Trucks.  

One of the most effective marketing tools I have seen was a comparison sheet of two young adults. One went to college, came out with 10’s of thousands of dollars in debt, starting work four years later at the bottom of the Corporate Ladder. The other one started learning a trade from day one; four years later had experience and money to pay for less expensive schooling in the local community college construction management program, using his job experience to grow into the job trailer.  Guess who had more money and was farther ahead at 40?
 
I am interested in those reading this to share a story of what construction means to you and how it’s affected your life in a positive way.  I am collecting stories to tell as I travel out to meet young people all over the country.  Me? Yes, I have a story. That’s for another post. In the meantime, I can’t wait to hear yours.
5 Comments
Phill Domask
8/22/2017 05:05:55 pm

I undertook a survey at a recent church gathering, asking fellow members to describe a typical construction worker.

Though portrayals varied, member-to-member, the general perception of the construction industry was not complimentary.

Descriptions included the words “dirty,” “unsophisticated,” “uneducated,” and “lazy lout-abouts” and were in stark contrast to the customers I collaborated with during my years with Alby Materials, Inc..

The picture painted from my survey is puzzling. Over my lifetime, the construction industry has been a leading provider of career opportunities – in Wisconsin and our nation – and, without fanfare, is directly responsible for building the quality of life we enjoy in America today.

Clean air and water, home ownership and affordable shelter, safe transportation – including roads, bridges, airports, and harbors – good schools, productive and safe businesses, accessible health care facilities, and recreational buildings and areas are made possible by the smarts, toil, and sweat of construction industry professionals.

I work daily with construction industry professionals, including contractors, construction material manufacturers and suppliers, technical and sales representatives, consultants, engineers, construction equipment manufacturers and suppliers, architects, equipment rental operators, designers, and staffs and boards of construction-related associations and societies. My customers are:

• hard-working, independent men and women dedicated to doing a sound job for their clients
• skilled, innovative persons, willing to embrace new technologies and new construction methods;
•capable and dedicated workers, empowered to anticipate client needs and exceed client expectations;
• knowledge-thirsty individuals, committed to updating and expanding their skills through ongoing education and training;
• goal-oriented, task-driven professionals, proud of their accomplishments; and
• mentors and advocates, investing time and expertise to improve their industry and the communities they serve.

Like you shared in your article, not a single member in my unscientific, religious sample would encourage family or friends to pursue careers in construction … unless the friend or family member was unable to “make the grade” at university or technical college.

I guess hands-on responsibility for building quality of life is seen as a low-priority calling by my fellow congregants (and society-at-large).

Young people looking to make a difference need look no further than the construction industry.

Reply
Would Rather Not Say.
8/23/2017 11:21:38 am

I do mostly public work in California. My installers work for me most of the summer doing school construction and during the school year they do mostly high end residential work and other light commercial. I spend the school year selling to the AED community to fill up the project pipeline.

My issue with labor has become bureaucracy. California has passed some very specific laws having to do with labor. One requires workers to attend a union school and get a graduation card. The issue with this is unless you join the union you can't get such a card. The second is even though workers have thousands of hours of experience, they don't have an avenue to graduation other than joining the union. The third has to do with project labor agreements. Again, they limit out the workforce pool and limit opportunity. Many government groups sign a PLA and that limits who can work on a project & increases costs by as much as 30-50%. If I were a young person (I can't believe I just said that, I'm only in my 30's) I would be horribly dissuaded from the trades due to such public policy. Why would I want to enter an industry where my hour of work does not count the same towards experience as the guy in the union? Why would I want to work on something seasonal when the union policy prices me out of residential work for most of the year.

If the government would get out of the way, it would be much easier to retain good people & train them. But that will not happen. The people who make policy are absolutely bought & paid for by special interests.

Reply
George Everding
8/23/2017 12:47:31 pm

Thad

My early-career mentors expressed a poor opinion of construction labor: only slackers and losers worked the trades. It was an era of architectural elitism. Fortunately my career had an early and illuminating exposure to construction administration. Here’s a brief story about professionalism, creativity, and problem solving that illustrates your thesis:

In the mid-1970’s during the height of shopping mall construction, architectural design was turning away from the sparseness of decoration free modernity. Our mall project had a ceramic tile floor with several decorative tile bands comprising 45° angled tile in whole units and cutters. Our designers had done a fine job of detailing the basic band, but had ignored the important question of “how to turn the corner.” A skilled professional tile setter identified the problem before the tile work started, raised the issue with his supervisor, and ultimately solved the problem. The solution involved slightly changing the locations and dimensions of the band, but it allowed a clean corner turn at both the 90° and 45° conditions. The result was a beautiful installation.

Construction professionals embrace opportunities to show off their work. The individual in this story was nearing the end of his career, and because of the nature of the modern design aesthetic, his career had seen mostly single color field tile in restrooms. This was a chance to use his long dormant union-sponsored training – he knew how to do decorative elements, he just had not been given the opportunity.

There are many similar stories from other trades – neon lighting, plastering, carpentry all come to mind – during this 1970’s era of revived emphasis on decorative elements. An early on site understanding of the professionalism inherent in well-trained labor showed the foolishness of my mentors’ negative opinions. In many cases, I have seen construction workers solve design problems we architects could not.

In four decades in the industry, the quality of construction labor has been one constant. Construction workers, especially those who learn their trades in union or industry sponsored training schools and apprenticeships, are dedicated skilled professionals who enjoy their work and who enjoy demonstrating their talents. They deserve respect as valued team members in our industry.

Reply
Unappealing Begrudgery
8/23/2017 11:36:27 pm

Motivated American teenagers in 2017 don't seem to be attracted to the idea of working in construction with union representation under the standard terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement. They shy away from class consciousness and the idea that the boss is an adversary.

Reply
George Everding
8/29/2017 10:42:01 am

Here's a recent article on President Trump's apprenticeship initiative that relates to this discussion: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2017/08/28/trump-gets-something-right-apprenticeships-and-social-mobility/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=55726788

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