Construction industry faces worker shortage

DENVER – The construction industry says it’s in danger of running short on workers to keep up with the demand for building projects, as employees age and more teens are pushed to go to college. To counter the effect, a top construction trade group kicked off an effort Tuesday to help bolster the employment ranks.

The plan by the Associated General Contractors of America, which represents 30,000 companies, aims to draw more people into building trades by establishing charter schools focused on technical training, starting nonunion apprenticeship programs and pushing for immigration reform.

The employment concern comes despite the fact that more than 2 million construction workers were laid off during the recession. The group believes many of those workers have since found work in other fields or have retired.

Meanwhile, about 44 percent of the construction workforce is age 45 or older and nearly one of every five construction workers is 55 or older, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

On immigration reform, the group wants protections for immigrants already in the country and higher caps on the number of foreign workers temporarily allowed into the U.S. to work on construction projects.