Four months after the state’s voting public approved two statewide and eight local bond measures investing hundreds of millions of dollars into Rhode Island educational facilities, among multiple other state and private-sector building plans, the construction sector is scrambling to hire enough workers to meet demand.
“It’s not that we are desperate, but it’s going to be a challenge to meet all the needs” presented to the local industry in the form of upcoming construction projects, said Michael F. Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager/secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island Laborers District Council.
“The demographics show us there are fewer people entering the workforce and more industries trying to attract those workers,” he said.
Construction firms and unions are not only competing among themselves to gain favor with prospective workers who have expressed interest in the sector, they are also contending with other sectors – such as manufacturing and retail or wholesale trade, for example – to attract those who are undetermined about their path.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, preliminary national construction employment for February was 7.4 million, with a projected 382,000 construction job openings as of December 2018, the latest data available.
Locally, the sector gained 900 jobs year-over-year through January.
“[Construction] labor, at least in this area of the country, will be in demand for the next 10 years,” Sabitoni said.
Yet industry experts and executives are split on how best to attract new blood. Some say the status quo – “earn-while-you-learn” opportunities and a strong benefits package – should be sufficient, while others find the need to offer new incentives rather than lose incoming talent to other sectors.
John Sinnott, Gilbane Building Co. vice president and Rhode Island business unit leader, said the average age of workers in the building trades is 51. He knows as those current workers age, new hires will be needed to take their place but also that a second contingent of additional workers is needed to meet the demand of recently approved school investment, road and corporate construction projects.
Securing those new hires, said Sinnott, comes at a price.
“In 2008, 2009, 2010, people were happy to have a job regardless. But now, we’re trying to be proactive,” said Sinnott, and not be “pushed into a corner [by] an ultimatum” from a prospective new hire with a certain salary point or title in mind.
“We have lost people based on the dollar, but we believe [construction work is] more than just the dollar. The benefits here are very good,” he said of company culture at the Providence-based firm.
In the wake of the recently increased demand, Sinnott said Gilbane has raised hourly pay for both first-year and returning summer interns. While he could not share the dollar amount, he said, “We want to reward loyalty.”
Additionally, the starting wage for new hires has “gone up substantially.”
Employment at Gilbane is mostly project-management work, and the company reports interest from both recent graduates and former construction-sector workers who pivoted to other industries during the recession. Regarding the latter, said Sinnott, their outside experience is “invaluable,” and “in some cases, we’re willing to pay extra for it.”
‘It’s going to be a challenge to meet all the needs.’
MICHAEL F. SABITONI, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council president
Emphasizing the fact that Gilbane does not “actively poach” from its competitors, Sinnott said the pool remains small.
Over the next five to 10 years, Gilbane wants to grow its regional footprint by 10-15 percent – or 40 to 50 people – “conservatively.” Sinnott expects between 10 and 15 of those new hires to operate out of the Providence office.
Paul Lander, business manager for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 330, similarly wants to increase the volume of tradespeople he represents by 10-15 percent – between 150 and 225 individuals by 2029.
While the union sees interest from both parties as well, Lander and Sabitoni feel what’s currently on offer – built-in training programs and existing benefit packages – should be sufficient perks to attract workers.
“We have found the [benefits] needed to keep us competitive,” said Lander, listing fully paid health and pension plans and an “earn-while-you-learn” model.
Sabitoni added that the pay scale for local tradespeople – what he estimated as ranging from $33 per hour to $55 and $60 per hour – is “extremely competitive.
“These are good-paying, middle-class jobs with health care and a pension,” said Sabitoni. “When you stack up the benefits we provide compared to other industries, its hands down [better].”
Time will tell if their gamble on the status quo pays off.
All three men agree the recent infrastructure investment isn’t a flash in the pan and will keep the industry from repeating the employment fallout circa 2010 and 2011 – when roughly 2 million jobs were lost, according to the BLS.
“The outlook for Rhode Island looks pretty ... good compared to [talk of an upcoming recession],” said Sinnott. The state’s infrastructure plan, RhodeWorks, and upcoming school facility investments, he said, are “going to keep a lot of people employed.”
