The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that approximately 200,000 jobs remain unfilled in U.S. residential construction. More than 2 million workers exited the industry following the housing crash in 2007, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, and many of them have no intention of coming back despite construction activity reaching its highest point since 2006.
A labor shortage has been particularly evident among trade contractors such as carpenters, framers, masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and roofers. The majority of remodelers rely on subcontractors to supply these workers, but more remodelers report project delays and reduced bandwidth to take on additional jobs as subcontractors struggle to find people who have the skills to perform the tasks required.
Remodelers must collaborate with subcontractors as well as training and educational institutions to ensure more people pursue a career in the trades (See “Developing a New Workforce” in our January issue). They should also become aware of programs that provide academic degrees in construction management, because their general contractors and project managers will only grow older and could retire from the business at any time.
Many construction management programs, however, focus entirely on the commercial and industrial sectors within the economy. Students learn the fundamentals of planning, designing and building a construction project while controlling its time, cost and quality, but they tend to apply those skills only to the development of large structures such as offices, warehouses, shopping malls and power plants.
The following list encompasses college and universities that offer two- and four-year degrees in construction management, along with opportunities to study in the residential sector. A point of contact for each program gives remodelers a direct connection to inquire about graduates coming out of the school when they need to replace a project manager or if they just want to add another general contractor to their staff. | QR
Construction Management Programs
| School | Location | Program | Contact | Students (per year) | Graduates (per year) | Overview |
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