Local homebuilders, contractors and other construction entities are trying to hit the nail on the head when it comes to boosting this generation’s construction workforce while helping build the next.

“For the last six years, the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association (WCFHBA) has waged war on the ongoing workforce crisis in our region,” said Cameron Moore, executive officer of the not-for-profit trade association.

With the average age of North Carolina construction workers cemented at 46, said Moore, “this presents a significant challenge, as in the next 12 to 16 years, many of these workers will be retiring or slowly getting out of the industry.”

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ 2024 Eye on Housing report, the share of Baby Boomers in the construction workforce is 16.2%, “implying that a substantial portion of the workforce would retire in the near future.”

But the good news “is that we are starting to see younger people joining the construction industry,” Moore said.

And many of them are Gen Zers, or those under 25 born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. According to the Eye on Housing report, “the share of younger construction workers ages 25 and under increased to 10.8% in 2022 from 9% in 2015.”

For Teresa Woods-Cox, owner of Wilmington-based Liberty Land Development and former owner of TA Woods construction company, recruiting, training and retaining the next cohort of carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC installers comes down, in part, to changing the veneer.

“The first thing that I would say to anybody is construction is for anybody and everybody,” said Woods-Cox, who also serves as co-chair of the Cape Fear Construction Sector Partnership. “It’s capturing those groups that we know are going to do really well (in the industry) and changing the perception and mindset of what construction can be for them.”

Woods-Cox strongly believes parents are an open door.

“This notion that you can’t make a good living (in construction) is a fallacy,” she said. “So I think the first thing we need to do is say to parents, ‘Let me show you a path for your child,’ then we need to address the students and say, ‘What do you like to do?’”

Of course, Woods-Cox hopes to shingle together other groups as well to help boost the current construction workforce.

“Let’s make sure that we’re recruiting from the military,” she said. “They make excellent, excellent tradesmen. I also think it’s figuring out how we talk with those mid-career change people. They’re often an untapped, talented resource.”

And that can’t happen fast enough, said Moore, as the dearth of construction workers directly impacts consumers.

“There are 24 trades that must touch a job site from start to finish,” he said. “Every one of them is vital for the completion of a home. … Without the necessary trades and skilled labor in place, it costs contractors time and money. Ultimately, many times, this cost makes its way down to the consumer in the overall price of the home.”

Woods-Cox said the economics are simple.

“It’s supply and demand. If the supply is low and the demand is high, what happens to the financial realm? Well, we have to increase pricing,” she said.

So, what’s the blueprint for recruiting, training and retaining construction workers and tradespeople?
“WCFHBA has become one of the top go-to sources in Wilmington to increase interest in and awareness around construction careers,” Moore said. “To date, the Construction Career Exploration Lab (CCEL) has provided an estimated 5,000 area kids a unique, hands-on learning experience.”

A mobile educational center that aims to enhance education and training for future generations in construction, the CCEL features information about masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical and HVAC, among other subjects.

“The CCEL, funded by a Skilled Labor Fund Grant awarded by the National Housing Endowment, features a cutout of a house’s exterior showing various stages of completion,” Moore said. “This adds not only visual interest but also a textural element that appeals to younger audiences … so they can get an idea of what a job in electrical, plumbing or HVAC, among others, would look like.”

Moore believes efforts like these are already framing construction’s future and showing results. “Over the course of the last six months, we have seen the overall national count of open construction sector jobs stabilizing.”

And still, other foundations are being laid.
“Tell me our wins in Southeastern North Carolina when it comes to construction,” said Woods-Cox, recalling her bid to peers at a recent Cape Fear Construction Sector Partnership. “We have some big ones.”

Among them are the local community colleges – Cape Fear, Brunswick, Columbus, Southeastern – that “are creating short-term training programs to help us get more skilled workers,” Woods-Cox said. Local and regional apprenticeship programs and vocational education also add depth and dimension.

“Holy cow, as long as we can keep churning, there’s going to be great opportunities for jobs, businesses and those involved in the construction industry,” Woods-Cox said. “I think that we have potential for phenomenal growth here.”