GENERAL PRESIDENT DOUGLAS MCCARRON:
High-Skilled Professionals Pouring Concrete? You Bet.
Accelerator for America
Dec. 5, 2018
“When I read construction industry journals and talk with contractors and owners, the buzz is all about a looming worker 
shortage. In fact, many jobsites already are short-staffed, but I contend that the real trouble isn’t a worker shortage—it is a skilled worker shortage.
“Real training is the answer.
“Despite the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., state and local efforts are finally gaining traction. Measure M in Los Angeles is a prominent example—and with leaders like Mayor Garcetti and others who are part of the Accelerator for America movement, states and cities can make a difference sooner rather than later.
“When done right, like in Los Angeles, the new development that often accompanies infrastructure improvement helps communities by including features like mixed-use high-rise construction and higher density near transit.
“A vastly more technology-minded construction industry also drives the need for higher skills. From layout to lathing; floor-covering to finish work, the book-knowledge, tools and what we used to call “manual-arts” skills that usher in ever-greater productivity require more sophisticated training than ever.
“Our workers need to be up to the task or they won’t get the work.
“Within the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) , we poll our members to learn what they like about being a union member. Topping the list is access to training and the safer worksites that training ensures. Without it they don’t see their craft as a career. Younger workers want to see a way to advance when they start working. Without real skills training that path forward is closed to them.”
Read the full Accelerator for America article featuring UBC General President McCarron HERE.
