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State lays foundation for better-paying jobs

Construction work is out there, and a new program will guide workers to required training.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published September 9, 2006

TAMPA - Michael Holloway was stuck in a string of dead-end telemarketing jobs. He earned little. Bosses fired people if they didn't meet sales quotas.

"I hated it," the 20-year-old Tampa resident said. "I was tired of bouncing from job to job."

In searching for a better job, he was surprised to find one in construction as an electrical worker earning $11 an hour with hopes of one day becoming a master electrician earning far more.

With an estimated shortage of 13,000 skilled construction workers in Florida, the state unveiled an initiative on Friday called Florida reBuilds to guide unskilled, underpaid workers like Holloway to the training required for skilled construction jobs.

Even with a national construction slowdown, officials say skilled workers are still in demand because of rebuilding required by recent hurricanes, which also drained skilled workers to other storm-ravaged states. Plus, the average skilled construction worker is aging and nearing retirement age, requiring a steady stream of replacements.

"We were hearing the cry all over Florida: We need more labor," Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said at a Tampa news conference touting the program. "We now need construction workers in droves."

With a $12-million budget, Florida reBuilds will coordinate with job-training agencies around Florida, public and private, to guide workers to the kind of instruction that leads to construction jobs from plumbing to roofing.

Florida reBuilds will provide funding to those training agencies to educate up to 10,000 workers a year.

"People don't realize these high-wage jobs are out there," said Steve Cona Jr., president of the Florida Gulf Coast chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry trade group.

"People just end up applying at McDonald's," said Nanette Schimpf, a spokeswoman for Florida reBuilds.

Holloway, the former telemarketer who was uninvolved in Florida reBuilds, received his training at Resource Acquisition & Management Services in Tampa, a business providing skilled laborers for construction sites. RAMS is one of multiple groups that will work with Florida reBuilds.

Cona said labor statistics show that nationally, 250,000 new skilled construction workers are required each year just to replace retirees. In Florida, the figure is up to 30,000, he said.

And he said labor shortages are anticipated to continue for at least five years, the problem compounded by low unemployment rates.

The average starting pay for a skilled construction job in Florida is $15 an hour, officials said. Cona said some workers can climb to more responsible positions, such as project managers, earning $80,000 annually.

Clearwater Council member Bill Jonson, whose daughter works in a sports bar, attended the event. "Maybe I should talk to my daughter," he said. "Construction's better than working in a sports bar."

William R. Levesque can be reached at levesque@sptimes.com or 813 226-3436.

[Last modified September 8, 2006, 23:44:15]