Building Industry Magazine - August 2014 - (Page 34)
etting
G
eady
R
Union carpenter He
ginio Bagcal working
at the construction
Albert C. Kobayash
site of
i Inc .'s Ritz-Carlton
Residences, Waikiki
Beach
Work
for
As construction picks up, is there enough skilled labor to go around?
BY PRISCILLA PÉREZ BILLIG
S
killed workers needed. This is the
clarion call of general contractors
seeking qualified building tradespeople
to compete for work amid Hawaii's latest construction boom. Insiders say the
greatest challenge facing the building
industry is the shortage of skilled workers, foremen and project managers.
But determining whether a shortage
of adequately trained workers exists
depends on who you talk to. The
opinions of developers, unions and
merit shops differ, but all agree that
training is a top priority.
Last year the Hawaii construction
industry completed an estimated $7.7
billion in projects and added 2,500
jobs, and is predicted to grow by 12.4
percent this year and 8.3 percent in
2015, according to a February study
34 | BUILDING INDUSTRY HAWAII | AUGUST 2014
by the State Department of Business,
Economic Development & Tourism.
Driving the construction upswing
and its attending economic growth are
public infrastructure upgrades, largescale commercial projects and residential construction. Most prominent and
promising of these are the Honolulu
rail transit project and the Kakaako
area development.
The Howard Hughes Corporation
(HHC), a major developer of the
Kakaako area, hires only union
members. Michael Vachio, director
of preconstruction at HHC, says this
practice ensures that hired workers are
qualified and, if necessary, his company
will import union members from outside
Hawaii. But not everyone agrees that
this stance guarantees efficiency.
"With undo pressure being placed
on developers to use union contractors
only, or else be bannered or picketed,
the backlash is now that the unions
cannot find enough workers to do the
jobs they have committed to do due
to a lack of skilled workers willing to
join the unions,"
says Jeffrey
Durham, ABC
Hawaii Chapter
chairman of the
board. "There is
no real shortage
of workers on
the merit shop
side." ABC offers
apprenticeship
programs in carpentry, electrical,
Jeffrey Durham
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Industry Magazine - August 2014
THE BIG ISLAND: KEEPING THE FAITH
INSIDE THE HICA
GET READY FOR WORK
CONCRETE MOVES FORWARD
INTERVIEW WITH KAREN NAKAMURA
NEWS BEAT
Datebook
Contracts Awarded
Low Bids
Company Profile: HPM Building Supply
Faces: ABC Hawaii Celebration
News Makers
New Products
Faces: Red, White and Blue
Faces: Hawaii Power
Building Industry Magazine - August 2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0115
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1214
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1114
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1014
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0914
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0814
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0714
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0614
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0514
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0414
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0314
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0214
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0114
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1213
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1113
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1013
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0913
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0813
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0713
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0613
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0513
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0413
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0313
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0213
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0113
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1212
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1012
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0912
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0812
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0712
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0112
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1211
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1111
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/1011
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0911
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0811
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0711
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/201103_bldngIndustry_nxtd
https://www.nxtbook.com/trade/bi/0411
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com