Like many regions in North America, Texas is facing a skilled trade shortage that threatens to impact the future health of the state’s construction industry.
At the same time, there are notable upcoming opportunities for Texas construction, says Dallas-based design-build and general contractor EB3 Construction. Significant projects have been announced across the state, ranging from advanced semiconductor facilities and data centers in Central Texas to major infrastructure upgrades along the Gulf Coast. EB3 says these represent, “economic engines reshaping communities and strengthening Texas’ position as a national leader in development and growth.” According to the Associated General Contractors (AGC), the state’s construction industry contributes close to 4.5 percent of the overall Texas GDP.
However, despite Texas boasting a 5.1 per cent construction job increase between September 2023 and September 2024, EB3 says Texas faces “a workforce crisis.”
The federal government’s failure to pass immigration reform, combined with a significant funding gap between collegiate education and career or technical education tracks, is being blamed for the low number of workers entering the construction labor pool, either domestically or from other countries.
“The shortage manifests in practical challenges for project delivery,” EB3 says. “Construction timelines in Texas now routinely include buffer periods specifically to account for labor availability issues. This reality translates to approximately 3-4 weeks of additional scheduling time for mid-sized commercial projects—a direct consequence of workforce constraints that ripple through the entire building ecosystem.”
Member companies belonging to organisations like the Dallas Builder Association are taking their recruitment efforts straight into high schools, junior colleges and community colleges across the state at a time when many students, both male and female, are making career decisions. A key selling point is pay levels. They tell students that a skilled construction trade worker can earn many times more than many entry-level jobs awaiting graduates. Many construction companies are increasing base pay rates to attract and retain workers and enhancing employee bonus programs and benefits such as healthcare and retirement planning.
At the secondary school level, the Texas State Building & Construction Trades Council promotes the use of the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum Apprentice Readiness Program. This program has been developed by the Building & Construction Trades Department Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, a collaborative body within the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), a division of AFL-CIO that oversees and manages apprenticeship programs for various construction trades.
Those wishing to continue to an apprenticeship level after high school can participate in a program registered with the United States Department of Labor, such as those offered by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU).
Most apprenticeship training programs are four or five years on an earn-as-you-learn basis, with pay increasing as the apprentice progresses. Training costs are provided by the apprenticeship program jointly managed by labor and management. Credits are granted for on-the-job training hours and for attending training classes related to the trade chosen.
Individual companies themselves are turning to social media and using virtual reality career demos that feature the industry’s growing high technology side. Many offer training and reskilling in the latest digital tools and software to widen the talent pool to include tech-savvy young people who might not have considered construction in the past.
Getting through the full apprenticeship program is not a cakewalk, says the Houston Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council, one the NABTU course providers. “A large percentage of those attempting to become an apprentice do not make it past the first year. We only want the best, because that is what our members and employers expect.”
While the industry steps up its investment in training and apprenticeships, the critical matter of retaining existing workers is also under threat due to vigorously enforced immigration crackdowns at the federal level.
According to the American Immigration Council, more than 500,000 immigrants worked in the Texas construction in 2022, representing 40 per cent of all employed in the sector. Of these, approximately 300,000 were undocumented, representing 23.3 per cent of all workers in the industry.
Economist Ray Perryman, CEO of the Perryman Group, says a mass roundup of undocumented workers would wreck the state’s construction industry. In fact, Alan Hoffmann, an executive board member with the Dallas Builders’ Association, told CBS News that the current immigration enforcement is already causing at least a 30 per cent labor shortage within the industry in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In response, CBS reports that the National Association of Home Builders has released an 8-page pamphlet titled, “When ICE Comes Calling”, explaining how employers should prepare for a potential visit from ICE, what the law is, and how to respond to an administrative audit.
There is little political support for undocumented workers. In fact, Texas Governor Greg Abbot has been strong supporter of the raids from the outset.
“We just want to make sure that the Trump administration understands we are here to help, whether it be to deny illegal entry, whether it be to arrest those who are here illegally, whether it be to assist in the deportation process.”