b'Revamp Your Employee Training ProgramWith nearly one in four construction workers older to Attract the 2024 Workforcethan 55 and nearing retirement, the need for an influx of skilled young workers cant be overstated. Creating By Tony DiSilvestro employment and growth opportunities through company training programs paves a clear career path for young employees to follow. It gives the employees confidence that the company believes in them and is investing in their future with the company. Data shows, unsurprisingly, that professional development and growth opportunities are important to attracting a younger workforce.In todays competitive hiring environment, construction companies can enlarge their candidate pool by offering high-quality training programs to 2023 has been the year of the labor shortage for therecruits who are serious about expanding their skills construction industry, caused and continued by aand career opportunities. Young workers without multitude of factors, including early retirements andexperience in a specific area of construction, but who low levels of younger generation workers who possesstruly want to learn, can benefitand the company can the skills to fill the employment gaps. as wellfrom on-the-job training. A larger pool of recruits allows companies to focus first on personality Thats why implementing a systemized, ongoingfit and then on building skills. As the team grows, training process is crucial heading into 2024. Thatthose who are motivated by growth opportunities will means providing your employees the tools not only toemerge as leaders and workers who can expertly learn a specific job but to build a long-lasting career inhandle numerous tasks. the industry.In addition to offering employment and growth TRAINING AS A RECRUITMENT/opportunity, designing training programs around RETENTION TOOLvideo and digital components will prove attractive to Gen-Z, which has grown up in the age of technology. One way to help recruit and retain young workers isImplement a system that is mobile-friendly and for companies to invest more in their own educationcomprehensive, yet easy to use for all generations.and training programs. Trainingor lack thereofis aCREATING AN EXPERIENCEgood place to start when troubleshooting the labor shortage afflicting companies in numerous industries.The foundation of any business is the experience you Many people who leave jobs do so because they werecreate for the customer. That is why customer never properly trained. And many people who areexperience and service should be a component of any looking for new jobs or to advance in their currentcompany training program.ones dont havenor do they feel they can acquire Over the long-term, your employees are not just the skills necessary.workers, but experience creators. Company leaders Leaders in the construction profession and other fieldsand their employees, regardless of industry, are must be mindful to retain their current workforce andcreating an external experience for their customers its skillset. To do so, it is vital that workers are trainedand an internal experience for themselves. Your on an ongoing basis and in ways that are effective andworkforce is having an experience when they come to conducive to long-term employment, thus givingwork and interact with each other. They want to work companies the best chance of consistent, long-termwith people they like, to learn from them and grow growth.with them. Effective training is about more than simply teachingTo achieve the long-term career sought by future skills; it is about investing in your people and culture.construction leaders, training must be done correctly. The construction industry is in the building business,And training done correctly never stops. A business but also the people business. Companies comprisemight train its employees for six to 12 weeks and many people, personalities, goals and lives, sorelease them into the industry. But then one, two, investing in fostering those peoplewhether seasonedthree years later, is that training being continued? or rookieon and off the jobsite is paramount forBeing built upon? Consistent and progressive training both recruitment and retention. If you do, those peopleis a companys investment into its workforce and will stay and grow with your company. employees investments into themselves.(continued to page 18) 11'