New MassINC Policy Center research on construction labor shows Massachusetts likely has enough skilled workers to stay on top of its housing and clean energy goals for the foreseeable future. This is largely thanks to the sharp slowdown in commercial construction in Boston. However, our analysis reflects aggregate totals at the state level. We know that regions beyond Greater Boston have far fewer workers in the skilled building trades. Combined with the loss of lower-skilled construction workers stemming from changing immigration policy, labor shortages could lead to real challenges for HDIP projects, grid upgrades, school construction, and other transformational investments. So what’s the fix?
For starters, Gateway City leaders can engage with union leaders to see if they can tap Boston’s pool of skilled construction workers in the near-term. While this will mean paying relatively higher wages, the knowledge that these workers bring should make projects go faster and with fewer costly slipups. Productivity gains will be especially large on complex projects. And in older urban areas, most developments check this box; building on odd-shaped lots and connecting to existing infrastructure can be just as challenging in downtown Fall River as in downtown Boston.
Forging relationships with unions could also have long-term benefits. Gateway City regions face labor shortages in part because small, local construction companies compete fiercely on price. This makes it harder for them to invest in the lengthy worker training that unions provide. To be sure, workers are not necessarily more productive in markets where unions have exceptional bargaining power. But when there is a healthy balance, unions have a strong incentive to invest in training and land jobs based on the skill and productivity of their workers. In Gateway City regions, this balance is often missing.
Manufactured housing presents another strategy to boost labor productivity in construction. For decades, housing leaders have been talking about the efficiencies of manufactured housing. While the technology has advanced, Massachusetts has made very little progress bringing this construction method to the fore. Because transportation costs are high, plants must be located in fairly close proximity to development sites. Regions need sufficient local demand to support upfront investment in these plants.
The state’s housing production plan prioritizes widespread adoption of manufactured housing. This gives Gateway City leaders an opening to partner with the Healey-Driscoll administration to help firms overcome the barriers to entry.
To the extent that Gateway City leaders have focused on the construction workforce in recent years, it’s largely been debating vocational school admissions practices. While this is certainly a worthy policy debate, it’s time for leaders to take a broader look at how they nurture a skilled construction workforce, one that can take full advantage of new methods and technologies to increase output and quality.