Experts from around the Valley – including BEX Companies’ own President and Founder Rebekah Morris – took part in a discussion during WESTMARC’s Economic Development Summit in May to discuss the ongoing labor shortage, its impacts and how the West Valley in particular has taken steps to build the labor pool necessary for growth.
David Hickey of Hickey & Associates said countless projects have not executed because there have not been people to build them and that the current environment is more competitive than ever.
Morris, who has long supplied data on industry workforce changes and its impacts on projects, discussed the whiplash in activity since 2006. From 2016 to the end of 2020, “There was a 20% year-over-year growth in construction activity,” she said. “It nearly doubled.”
Morris reported that in 2006 – the height of Arizona construction activity – Arizona’s construction workforce was at 240,000. As of March of this year, there are 182,600 construction jobs statewide, a 24% drop. As a result, firms from architects to manufacturers to contractors are struggling with significant vacancies in needed positions.
Because of this, “We have $4B worth of projects that we think the demand is there for,” she said. “We know these projects are real — they have the design firm, the contractor, the plans. Everything is in place, but they’re not moving forward because the market is constrained. We need workers at all levels, the less-skilled, highly skilled, even management and technical professionals.”
Even with the shortages, Hickey says the West Valley has good potential for expansion, adding that local talent pipelines might be the future to workforce development.
As part of the summit, incoming Grand Canyon University Provost Randy Gibb announced a workforce development partnership between GCU and Rosendin Electric that will establish a pre-apprenticeship program of four college courses for 40 students.
After one semester, students will start apprenticeships to become journeyman electricians.
CJ Williams of Maricopa County Human Services’ ARIZONA@WORK network, emphasized the importance of collaboration between stakeholders as essential for developing talent. Williams also talked about the importance of getting in front of students as early as elementary school to promote participation in skilled trades.
Morris stressed the importance of a multi-pronged effort, emphasizing efforts by educational outlets, trade associations and employers looking to develop and expand their own talent networks. “There is no magic bullet.” (Source)