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V O L . X X I I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 8 , 2 0 1 6 20 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / D E S I G N F O C U S Matthew Marks: Since I started here the construc- tion industry has been in a very chaotic period. We went from trying to attract people [through the 2006 outreach eff ort] to losing highly skilled people who shouldn't have had to retire that early. We lost younger workers who had to leave the industry to fi nd other work who should have been that next generation of workers. Instead, we lost that talent, because the economy collapsed. MB: It was almost like a 'perfect storm'? MM: at's what we were calling it. So we shifted focus and unfortunately we had to put a lot of that initiative on the back burner. We still wanted to be talking about these great careers, but something unprecedented had just happened. It wasn't realistic to encourage young people to enter construction when they know their uncles, their moms and dads, their cousins or whoever had lost their jobs in this fi eld. MB: Where are you now in terms of your recruitment initiative? MM: We started speaking to high school guidance counselors in December. We've talked about Maine's population trends, the fact that 18% of our workforce is over the age of 55. So, if we take that, plus the 7,000 jobs lost since peak, we're looking at an increase of 11,510 jobs that we have to hit in the next fi ve years to meet the projected needs. We've talked about the infrastructure backlog, which is tremendous. It's billions of dollars to fi x all the problems we have to address. So there's plenty of work that needs to be done in this state by our member companies. And then we talk about the fact of how good these jobs are in terms of pay and becoming a career. MB: What's the range of pay for those jobs? MM: e average salary in Maine for construction is $45,000. at's 12% more than the average for pri- vate sector employees in the state. But for some trades that's the low end. I'll give you one example. One of our member companies hired a couple of young kids to become welders. ey put them through a welding program and this year they each made $80,000. I'm sure they worked a lot of hours, I'm sure it was tough work, but that's a great job. MB: Do you feel that message is getting through? MM: I think the guidance counselors didn't realize how many opportunities we have. I think when we told them how our workforce is really aging, the fact that 45% of our workforce is over the age of 45, they began to see the potential need for young workers in the next 10 to 15 years. We also told them we need kids who have exposure to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, skills. It's not just a matter of working with your hands. MB: How's the construction industry today? MM: We're seeing a steady increase in the marketplace. Folks are telling us they are starting to see more work and that they're having more of a struggle putting timelines together because there's a bit of a backlog. So that's a good sign. All the trades are starting to tell us it's harder to fi nd an electrician or plumber or a drywall crew. ose, to me, are problems I like to deal with. at's why this year we started to refocus back on what we were doing in 2006. at's why as an organization we're saying, 'We have to start striking the balance between steady investment in growth in Maine and bringing people into the workforce who work with their hands — who like to be outside, who are using those skills … a welder, a carpenter, a drywall or fl ooring guy — and putting them to work.' What scares us a little bit is how fi ckle it is. We're dependent upon so many things. If the energy sector, for example, started to slow, that's a big deal. roughout that 10-year period since 2006, when we lost 10,000 jobs, the one growing sector was energy. at was our saving grace, with more than $1 billion invested in wind energy in this state. at's been a big boost for Reed & Reed, Cianbro, Sargent and a lot of other Maine companies. Another big one was Central Maine Power Co.'s $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Program. at was huge. And we've also had the natural gas work that came in late in the game. All of that combined probably saved o ur industry in Maine from hitting 50% in job losses. MB: Is it fair to say workforce development and training is AGC Maine's top priority for 2016? MM: It is one of our top priorities. e other is that we need to make sure the pipeline of work is consistent. Some of that will happen, automatically, on its own. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Proudly Building a Better Tomorrow.... Today! BHA- Freeses Remodel, Bangor Somerset Place, Brewer Chamberlain Place, Brewer Somerset Place, Brewer Maine Maritime Academy, Castine Chamberlain Place, Brewer

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