The construction industry has been talking about the workforce shortage for years.

But some of the conversations happening across the industry right now raise another question:

What happens when we actually get the next generation through the door?

Contractors are still struggling to find skilled craft workers. At the same time, organizations are finding new ways to introduce young people to construction careers, and younger professionals are bringing different experiences and skills to the jobsite.

Getting people interested in construction is one challenge.

What happens after they arrive may be the next one.

The Workforce Challenge Is Not Going Away

A recent workforce survey from the Associated General Contractors of America and the National Center for Construction Education and Research found that 87% of contractors reported openings for craft workers. Among firms with openings, 88% said those positions were as difficult to fill as, if not harder than, a year ago.

One comment reported by Construction Dive stood out.

Mindy Bates, Human Resources Director at Ace Electric, said:

“You cannot hire your way out of this situation. We got to grow it from within as well.”

That shifts the conversation from simply recruiting people to developing them.

The challenge is preparing people who may be completely new to construction, transferring decades of field knowledge to the next generation, and creating opportunities that give people a reason to build a career in the industry.

Construction Is Finding New Ways to Reach Young People

Organizations are also finding new ways to introduce young people to careers in the skilled trades.

Be Pro Be Proud is a workforce development initiative that introduces students to technical careers through hands-on experiences. The program has been operating for years and has expanded into multiple states, using mobile workshops and immersive technology to give students exposure to careers in construction, manufacturing, transportation, utilities, and other skilled professions.

One example of that expansion is happening right now in Texas.

TEXO Foundation recently launched Be Pro Be Proud Texas as a new workforce development initiative in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The mobile workshop will visit schools and give students opportunities to experience aspects of skilled careers through activities and simulators, including operating heavy equipment and welding.

TEXO plans to reach more than 1,500 students during the program's first six months.

The approach is interesting because students are not just hearing about construction opportunities. They are getting a chance to experience what some of those careers could actually look like.

Recruiting is only the beginning. The experience people encounter once they enter the industry matters too.

What Can Generations Learn From Each Other?

A recent Construction Dive article explored what is happening as Gen Z professionals enter the construction industry.

Alondra Mendoza, an assistant superintendent at Suffolk Construction, helped a senior superintendent learn digital tools, including Procore and Bluebeam. At the same time, she was learning from his years of construction experience.

She called it “reverse mentoring.”

It is a simple example, but an interesting one.

Experienced construction professionals have decades of knowledge that cannot be picked up from an app, classroom, or orientation. Younger employees may bring greater familiarity with some of the digital tools becoming part of the jobsite.

The opportunity may not be deciding which approach is better.

It may be making it easier for knowledge to move in both directions.

What Happens After Orientation?

A new worker may complete orientation on Monday morning.

But learning does not stop on Tuesday.

Projects change constantly. Work progresses. Logistics change. New hazards emerge. Crews move.

Workers keep learning long after orientation ends.

That is where communication, mentoring, training, and leadership begin to intersect. Experienced people still need to teach, coach, answer questions, and provide context.

Technology should not replace those relationships. But it may help them go further.

One example comes from RC Construction, a family-owned contractor based in Mississippi. The company has created training videos for specific operations and equipment, which it uses as part of a cross-training program. Employees can develop skills beyond their primary roles and access training from a mobile device without always having to leave the field to sit at a computer.

As employees develop new skills, they can take on additional responsibilities, earn a new title, and receive additional compensation.

RC Construction has also discovered that the program provides leadership with another way to identify employees seeking opportunities to grow.

Bethany Muzzi, VP of Administration at RC Construction, explained:

“Those accessing the material and asking for more is a great way for us to identify the employees who want growth opportunities.”

That is an interesting way to think about training. It is not only about teaching a skill. It can also help leaders see who is raising their hand for what comes next.

The impact goes beyond identifying employees who want to grow. As employees develop a broader range of skills, Bethany has also seen a difference in what the team can accomplish.

“We have increased our efficiency with the employees who want to be here and are able to do more with less.” 

Employees gain opportunities to learn and grow, while the company develops a more versatile workforce that can contribute in more ways.

Creating opportunities to learn, contribute, and advance may be an important part of keeping the next generation engaged.

Are We Building the Workforce Experience Along With the Workforce?

There is encouraging work happening across construction.

Programs like Be Pro Be Proud are introducing young people to skilled careers. Organizations like TEXO are bringing those experiences into their communities. Contractors like RC Construction are developing the people already on their teams. Experienced professionals are passing along decades of field knowledge. Younger employees are bringing new perspectives and familiarity with technology.

None of these efforts alone solves the construction workforce challenge.

But together, they raise an important question for industry leaders:

As we invest in bringing the next generation into construction, are we putting the same thought into the experience waiting for them when they arrive?

Getting people through the door matters.

What happens after they walk through it may matter just as much.

How MindForge Helps

Workforce Development does not end with orientation.

Workers continue learning from supervisors, mentors, field experience, formal training, and the information they receive along the way.

MindForge gives contractors another way to support that ongoing development and connection without replacing the people and relationships that make construction work.

With MindForge, contractors can:

• Continue learning beyond orientation. Create and assign training using videos, documents, and other content as workers develop new skills.
• Share knowledge across the workforce. Capture training, processes, best practices, and lessons learned so that knowledge can reach more people.
• Make learning accessible from the field. Workers can access training and information on their mobile devices without always leaving the field to go to a classroom or a computer.
• Stay connected after training. Continue sharing safety information, company updates, jobsite changes, recognition, and other important messages.
• Support English and Spanish-speaking workers. The MindForge app displays in English or Spanish based on the worker's device settings, and alerts can be automatically translated between the two languages.
• See how workers are engaging. Training completions, quiz results, and message views provide leaders with visibility into how employees engage with training and information.

For RC Construction, technology has also helped maintain the company’s culture and messaging consistency across its workforce.

As Bethany Muzzi, VP of Administration at RC Construction, explained:

“Having the same message and culture, we can push out to the whole company on one platform. MindForge has been instrumental in achieving that.” 

Technology will not create a strong culture on its own. That still comes from leadership, experienced people, mentoring, and the way people work together every day.

But technology can help amplify and reinforce that culture by extending the same messages, expectations, knowledge, and opportunities to more people across the organization.

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