Hawaiʻi is facing a growing workforce shortage concern for the state’s construction industry. The solution lies in Generation Z.
Construction is one of Hawaiʻi’s largest economic engines. The need to build housing and a growing defense contracting space is creating more demand. And that creates more demand for workers.
A recent UHERO report said ongoing construction of the Skyline rail project, the Aloha Stadium redevelopment, and rebuilding on Maui will sustain nearly 40,000 construction jobs through the end of this decade.
But the median age of a construction worker in Hawaiʻi is 44, two years older than the national median of 42.
That’s why the industry is looking to members of Gen Z, who range in age right now from 13 to 28.
Roseann Freitas is CEO of BIA Hawaiʻi, which trains new workers through its Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training, or PACT, program.
She said when the demand is there, there will be workers who come to Hawaiʻi to do the jobs but then leave. So it’s better for the state’s economy to grow workers here.
That’s something Honolulu Community College is doing through two programs that train carpenters, electricians and roofers.
Edmund Aczon is the executive director of the Hawaii Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Fund.
He’s worked with the state Department of Education for years to get the message out to high schools that construction is a legitimate career path with good jobs that pay well.
But he said the industry needs to attract students at an even earlier age — in middle school — before they or their parents write off construction as a career.
