Let’s take a look at how one of the nation’s major industries — construction — is going to have to change its recruiting and hiring practices in order to be successful going forward.

The construction industry has been hit as hard, if not harder, than any other during recent years by the free-falling economy and its myriad problems. Just when other businesses appear to be stabilizing and, in some cases, beginning to improve, construction continues to struggle. In fact, the industry is already reporting more staffing cutbacks, with still more expected.

It appears that the “green shoots” of recovery are not being found in the building industry. And when new construction does return, there will be very few builders who can take advantage of the opportunities. Why? They won’t be able to hire enough of the right people to get back in the game.

"The War for Talent," a 1998 study by McKinsey Co., pointed out the decline in the number of people in the United States between the ages of 35 and 45 over the next 15 years. This is the age group where we typically recruit entry-level people and promote our best into leadership positions. Builders have always been able to draw liberally from this demographic, but during the next few years good candidates in this range may prove hard to find.

In the meantime, the construction industry has laid off huge numbers of superintendents, project managers, estimators, purchasers, and technical experts. Of course, the best of these people have found new jobs, probably in new industries. They may now be working for established, stable companies that offer a salary, bonuses, health benefits, 401Ks, and opportunities for advancement. After seeing how swiftly the bottom dropped out of the building industry, there’s likely no way these people are going to go back to the construction business and gamble on its return to glory, much less its long-term growth and stability.

If we combine the predictions made by the McKinsey study with the vast number of people who have left the construction business forever and throw in an increase in construction sales, we have a huge problem. There will simply not be enough people to build what is sold. Finding and training salespeople will not be a problem — these individuals will be readily available and can be trained quickly. However, superintendents and project managers require more than a three- to six -month training program — they need extensive, on-the-job experience in order to handle the level of expertise required to build. And these seasoned people who can jump back in will be very, very scarce.

If we see even a small boom in construction, few companies will have the talent to take advantage of the opportunity. To make things even more challenging, departments such as HR and training have been reduced or eliminated completely in many organizations. There seems to be no good choices for most construction companies. Payrolls had to be cut in order to control expenses. However, by doing this, they’ve limited their future success.

Is there a better strategy? How is your company planning to hire for future opportunities? Are you facing challenges like those in the construction industry? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.