In a recent article, Construction Dive quoted Eric Grasberger on what hiring and retention tactics large contracting firms may need to employ as they ramp up to work on large infrastructure projects.
A pair of new laws—the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act—allocate $39 billion towards building and expanding semiconductor manufacturing plants, which will create thousands of new construction jobs, but also add pressure on a job market already struggling to provide enough workers to feed a glut of existing large projects. Where in the past trades workers were interested in large part in how much a job would pay and how many hours they would work, workers considering employment with large contractors are looking also for perks like paid time off or maternity and paternity leave.
According to construction attorney Grasberger, the chair of Stoel Rives’ construction and design group: “In order to compete, the contractors on those jobs have to go to the owners and say, ‘We can’t get the labor, and we’re not going to get the labor unless you authorize an increase in the hourly wages, the per diem or both—or perhaps other incentives.’”
Read the full article here.