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The book is officially closed on 2014. The past year was defined by economic growth as well as rising backlogs and confidence within the construction industry. While I could feel it and sense it in my interactions with people, economic data backs it up as more than just intuition.

The most recent data from the Associated Builders and Contractors‘ Construction Confidence Index (CCI) showed increases in all three categories 鈥� revenue, profit margins and hiring 鈥� in 2014. As ABC noted in October, 鈥淓ach index now stands at a post-recession high implying that nonresidential construction’s recovery, already robust, is positioned to continue into the year ahead.鈥�

People across the industry also are struggling with the availability 鈥� or rather the lack 鈥� of an adequate and skilled workforce 鈥� this re-emerged as a major issue this past year. As I’ve lamented in this space many times, the flow of workers into the construction industry is not keeping pace with demand. While ABC and many other groups across the construction industry make critical investments in efforts to attract new workers to the industry, this is becoming the most significant challenge to address in 2015 and beyond.

The 2014 Oregon Legislature took a major step in the right direction by pulling apprenticeship programs within the 鈥渕iddle 40鈥� of the governor’s 40-40-20 goal for our education system. The initiative’s aspirational objectives are to see 40 percent of the adult population possess a bachelor’s degree or greater, 40 percent possess an associate’s degree or training certificate, and the remaining 20 percent achieve a college or career-ready diploma. While this could feel like a symbolic gesture to some, it repositions skilled trades as a priority and a career destination that educators and school counselors should embrace and help students work toward.

The governor signaled a good start to the new year last month when he proposed a budget that provides $65 million in funding for career and technical education (CTE) programs. This can go a long way toward preparing young people for careers in skilled trades like construction and bringing awareness of these opportunities back into our schools. This portion of the budget is a promising blueprint that the Legislature should act upon.

The legislative session is sure to bring other opportunities as well as challenges. Well-intentioned legislation to encourage utilization of apprentices on public projects would prove itself a major headache for contractors. In addition to wrongly assuming apprentices aren’t already a major component of the workforce on public projects, it applies a one-size-fits-all approach to the wrong end of the problem.

As illustrated above, efforts to improve workforce development must start with the input 鈥� identifying and attracting new people to the industry. Mandating utilization of apprentices when ratios of apprentices to journey-level workers are already impeding training opportunities within the industry show little understanding of the industry and a lack of common sense.

As we look ahead at 2015, how will the year be defined 360 days from now? I’m optimistic that we can start down the road to solving problems and allowing the industry to thrive. There are certainly challenges ahead, but the will to solve them appears to be there. We must hope that common sense prevails and that people recognize how we can best attract a new generation of workers to the industry.

Laurie Kendall is president of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Pacific Northwest chapter. Contact her at 503-726-5440 or at [email protected].