Labor Shortage, Surplus, and Community Development Programs

As the economy goes through cycles, the demand for new construction rises and falls. With this demand comes a need for skilled workers.  In recent years, the demand has been so great that training programs have had a difficult time keeping up. At the same time, the concern exists that downturns will lead oversupply of labor and will result in people leaving the field. Moreover, there are many communities in Chicago that need reinvestment and are plagued by chronic underemployment. During this panel, we will explore the question of labor shortage and surplus from a wide range of AEC perspectives in hopes of better understanding how to better position your firm and ways in which companies can help support community development through employment and business development programs.

Participating in this discussion was: Owen Washburn, Vice President, Global Philanthropy, JP Morgan ChaseDon Biernacki, Senior Vice President, Construction, Related Midwest and it was moderated by: Jay Snyder, Senior Consult, FMI