Characteristics of the craft workforce

The heart of the competitiveness in the U.S. construction industry has always been the skilled workforce that has been available to implement the technology of construction. During the late 1980s, many experts predicted severe shortages in the skilled workforce by the year 2000. This perception was based on demographic shifts in our population and the demands for workers in other areas of the economy. Based on this perception, a study was undertaken to examine the issues and survey a broad cross section of the craft workforce. This paper describes the results of a questionnaire administered to more than 4,600 craftworkers throughout the United States concerning their perceptions of their job, career, and employment conditions. The results of this questionnaire provide new insight into how craftworkers perceive job satisfaction, satisfaction with the financial aspects of construction work, career orientation, and pride. The study provides a model for individual companies to develop similar surveys to assess their employee's perceptions. The survey provided an opportunity to gather a broad range of information regarding the perceptions of our current craft workforce. The insights provided by this survey should provide a basis to address problems that may arise with craftworker shortages in the United States. A better knowledge of the perceptions of the craft workforce results in the potential to improve the management's ability to get the best out of the construction workforce, retain skills that currently exist, and build a strong and competitive future workforce.