Skilled Workers Are Scarce, Posing a Challenge for Biden’s Infrastructure Plan

New York Times

By Madeleine Ngo
Home construction in Millsboro, Del. Job openings in construction have picked up at a rapid clip after the sector lost more than one million jobs at the beginning of the pandemic.Credit...Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The infrastructure bill that President Biden hopes to get through Congress is supposed to create jobs and spur projects for companies like Anchor Construction, which specializes in repairing aging bridges and roadways in the nation’s capital.

But with baby boomers aging out of the work force and not enough young people to replace them, John M. Irvine, a senior vice president at Anchor, worries there will not be enough workers to hire for all those new projects.

“I’d be surprised if there’s any firm out there saying they’re ready for this,” said Mr. Irvine, whose company is hiring about a dozen skilled laborers, pipe layers and concrete finishers. If the bill passes Congress, he said, the company will most likely have to double the amount it is hiring.

Publish : 2021-09-09 15:58:00

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