Building Charlotte’s future (literally) with the construction industry
Charlotte’s growth rests, in the end, on the people who actually build our city: The construction industry.
In this episode of the “Future Charlotte” podcast, general contractor Myers & Chapman CEO Marcus Rabun talks about the near-term challenges facing the industry such as covid-19, material and labor shortages. Rabun also discusses what might be an even bigger challenge to the construction industry’s long-term future: Building the skilled workforce we need to build Charlotte’s future. Many workers in trades such as plumbing and electric are aging out, and finding qualified people to replace them is a bigger challenge than it used to be, Rabun said.
“It’s education of the youth. Take it past there, it’s the education of parents,” he said. “There’s a misunderstanding and misinformation, a bit, around how fulfilling, frankly, from a pay standpoint to a gratifying standpoint of completing something, that is not taught. They get there and they’ve got this misunderstanding: ‘Hey, construction? I’m digging a ditch.”
Listen to the full episode below.
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