While the new Sherwood High School was being constructed, Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers opted to take advantage of an ideal opportunity.

General contractor Skanska USA Building, electrical subcontractor Rosendin Electric and other parties that worked on the $147 million project cooperated with school staffers to devise a series of lessons for students to learn more about the construction industry and the skilled trades. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Skanska worked closely with some high school construction management interns. Then, even after the pandemic shut down in-person instruction, CTE teachers Allison Meadows and Jon Dickover pursued more involvement for their pupils.

“I think that one of the requests that our school district had of Skanska was that they somehow involve students, and that helped grease the wheels for what we did a little bit,” Dickover said. “It helped that Rosendin and Tim (Moore, Northwest operations manager) had a clear vision of how they really wanted to help, so that was easy.”

Students enrolled in Sherwood’s CTE program can choose welding, woodworking and basic construction courses. With in-person classes cancelled for much of the 2020-21 school year, Dickover and Meadows asked subcontractors to provide virtual lessons in a wide variety of topics touching on the skilled trades and the wider industry. Firms obliged via Zoom and students then applied that instruction to their coursework assigned by teachers.

“Students sign up for CTE courses because they are hands-on-minded kids,” Meadows said. “We were thinking ‘How can we make this really relevant for them?’”

CTE students typically “hate sitting in front of a computer,” she added.

“We could have taught them out of a book, but that’s not how our students want to learn,” she said. “So, we structured it so we had as many speakers from different industries and as many professionals as possible come in. Students would see as many as four different speakers during the week and have a reflection about it on day five, and also have Q and A during those sessions.”

Other firms that took part and offered virtual lessons included BRIC Architecture (designer of the 353,000-square-foot facility), Anning-Johnson Company, Apollo Mechanical Contractors, Coffman Excavation, Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping, and Sowles Company. Additionally, representatives from Ironworkers Local 29, the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the Sheet Metal Institute and Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, and UA Local 290 Plumbers and Steamfitters participated.

“All of these opportunities have been great in not only educating students, but their parents as well,” Rosendin Business Development Manager Courtney Hron said. “We find that a lot of parents weren’t ever told about the trades growing up, so they are more likely to also push the college path to their children. But programs like this have really helped open their eyes.”

It helped that Sherwood High School had a preexisting relationship with Rosendin. In past school years, students have visited the company’s Hillsboro office and shop.

“I think for years we wanted to do this,” Meadows said. “Jon (Dickover) and Tim (Moore) went round and round with multiple stakeholders about how this could be a dream program, but we couldn’t figure out how to solve it. We’ve all been talking about serving students in that way and this happened to be the prime time to drop it.”

A previous collaboration between Rosendin and the Sherwood School District led to construction of a concessions trailer for the high school softball program, Moore said.

“It was really fun, and we were just getting ready to frame it and COVID hit,” he said. “That was going to involve most of the trades, and the kids were really excited about it. What excites me is what we might be able to build in this trades class with the kids and give back at the same time.”

Now, with students on the brink of returning to in-person classes, the future of CTE education at Sherwood High School is brighter than ever.

“I think it’s more exciting to think about how this will impact our programs for future years and if it drives more students into that area as a result of sheer exposure to the trades,” Meadows said.

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While construction teams carry on during the COVID-19 pandemic, some are beginning to encounter a materials supply chain that has been taxed to the limit – especially beyond U.S. borders. Government-imposed economic shutdowns have left manufacturers, distributors and their customers all scrambling to keep shelves stocked and workers equipped.

Lead times on orders are increasing. Material shortages are persisting. It’s the new norm, and no one really knows when that will change.

“Two weeks ago, (if) you would have asked how is a particular project in Hillsboro going for us … I would (have said), ‘Fine; no issues,’” said Eric Wiesmann, purchasing manager for Rosendin Electric‘s Hillsboro facility. “And three days later, factories are shut down and materials are put off until June. So I’d say today it’s undetermined; next week I’m probably going to tell you every one of our projects is going to be impacted.”

Many countries have required factories to suspend or severely limit operations. Outputs are slowing, and delivery times are growing – and U.S. customers are noticing. Andersen Construction Vice President Brian Knudsen said international shipments of a number of items –elevators, doors, flooring, thin brick and others – are being delayed.

“We have had a thin brick product on a project delayed not only due to the German factory being closed, but also because the broker for the product is from New York and they are closed,” he said. “So getting the delivery information has been difficult, causing uncertainty.”

Meanwhile, for the Halsey 106 mixed-use building in Portland, general contractor LMC Construction is trying to ensure there won’t be a shipment problem.

“On this one, we have quartz countertops coming from Vietnam, and at this point we haven’t heard of any issues,” project manager Ken Bello said. “But what we’re trying to do is procure and get this stuff on ships as soon as possible so we have them here.”

LMC Construction has tried to be proactive, Vice President Kyle Anderson added.

“Everything we’re hearing is be prepared for materials coming from China to take a lot longer,” he said. “But right now it hasn’t hit us because we’ve tried to get ahead of it … and get material on-site and get additional storage.”

A similar approach is being taken by Hoffman Construction, according to Vice President Dan Drinkward. The firm has been able to work through supply chain issues so far, he said, but there are concerns about long lead times – especially for items coming from overseas.

Locally, even before state emergency measures were being taken, builders were working to mitigate supply chain issues. For the Robert Libke Public Safety Building project in Oregon City, procurement of items like rooftop HVAC units and storefront systems was moved up to accommodate a wider delivery window, P&C Construction project manager Will Somme said.

“We have to get out in front of it,” he said. “It’s been minor, but the whole shipping industry is overwhelmed right now.”

LMC Construction expects to see more of that, Anderson said.

“All we can do with our clients is be as transparent as we can about what’s potentially coming up and what we’re seeing,” he said, “and then we just react to it on a case-by-case scenario.”

While issues vary for each project, Hoffman Construction has adjusted by ordering materials earlier than usual, forgoing factory inspections in distant locations, and working with subcontractors and distributors to try and identify potential problems before they become critical.

“We’re trying to set up projects up front and avoid sole-source specifications that could lead us into a bottleneck that would put a project in a difficult position,” Drinkward said. “We’re trying to build some flexibility into the supply chain anticipating we’re going to have impacts and understanding we don’t know what we don’t know yet.”

What is known is that numerous fabrication shops in Clark County, Washington – including ones that work with steel – have closed. That impact has stretched across the Portland-metro area.

“We’ve had some subcontractors and suppliers from Washington basically tell us they’re shutting down,” Anderson said. “Most of our Washington-based subs are still working. The ones we’ve heard of are the ones with an actual fabrication shop in Washington, where they feel like they have to shut it down.”

Much of that burden is being shouldered by distributors, Wiesmann said.

“We’re going to distributors and asking them to find new light fixtures, panel boards, breakers – different brands of those products – and we’re going to multiple distributors,” he said. “Everybody is working harder, and it’s this very odd blend of circumstances that leaves people working harder and making less money.”

Fortunately for LMC Construction, the material impacts it has experienced so far have not been critical, Anderson said. The closure of a door manufacturer in another state forced project managers for a renovation of the Silvertowne Apartments in Silverton to hunt for alternatives. Meanwhile, a team handling a different project ran into difficulties sourcing bath hardware. Other items that are proving more difficult to procure, Anderson said, include sheet metal products and steel products.

“We made the substitution from a different manufacturer for a slight material increase, and that’s what we’re seeing for the most part,” he said. “But the other thing we’re starting to see more and more of is suppliers and manufacturers warning us that their lead times are going to be longer.”

Andersen Construction has multiple tower projects under way in downtown Portland. It’s receiving similar messages, Knudsen said.

“We have received notices from most of our trade partners about material delays on all of our projects,” he said. “Many times they are not specific, only that there will be delays, but the timing is not specific or is given as a range of weeks or months of delay.”

Not every contractor in the Portland-metro area is dealing with such uncertainty. Yes, larger materials, and especially ones not standard sizes, seem to be problematic. And of course, many international shipments appear likely to be slower for the foreseeable future. But some firms have yet to face material shortages or delivery delays.

“It is definitely an important topic to examine, and seems to be coming up a lot on some of the calls with developers,” said Angie Cole, director of marketing for general contractor Lorentz Bruun Construction. “We are very fortunate, however, in that we have not experienced any of the challenges you mentioned. We may be a lucky exception.”

Ultimately, as the pandemic continues, no one is sure what the long-term effects will be, either on their projects or the wider construction industry. Everyone is responding to the situation at hand.

Nevertheless, Drinkward and others say the industry is already adapting to the new realities – including supply chain challenges – in a more cooperative fashion than in the past.

“It’s ever-changing, but we’ve figured out largely how to do it,” he said. “And we’re seeing with the (resumption of construction) now in Washington, with our projects up there, although many of them were considered essential, now they’ve got new guidelines and the new normal. It’s actually one of the things we’ve hoped and offered up. As other businesses start up, we have a lot of lessons we’ve learned on how to do it.”

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As the shortage of labor in the skilled trades persists, some contractors are increasing their engagement with the next generation poised to enter the workforce. These companies are seeking to cultivate connections with students by showing them in person peeks at careers in the building industry.

Rosendin Electric, a national electrical subcontractor with an office in Hillsboro, is doing just that via the Hillsboro Chamber’s School to Career program. In cooperation with the Hillsboro School District, the firm has developed a two-day program that brings high school students to its shop for exploration of the electrical trade.

“It’s really worked twofold for us,” said Zach Sharber, Rosendin’s quality assurance and commissioning program manager for the Pacific Northwest. “One is being a good partner in our community – we’re part of the Hillsboro community. And two is getting people interested in coming back to Rosendin or into our industry to help fill that void we’re experiencing right now. The schools can’t do it alone.”

Approximately 20 students from Glencoe, Liberty and Century high schools as well as Aloha High School in Beaverton School District recently spent two full days learning career skills such as basic wiring, estimating, project management, building information modeling, engineering, pre-fabrication and more. Further, they also gained insight about the soft skills – interviewing, resume building, fitness and more that are important in the construction industry.

Participants are also involved in their respective school’s construction or CTE (career and technical education) programs. Some were first-time attendees and others, Sharber said, have attended previous Rosendin events.

“I think the most encouraging thing is seeing the recurrence of the same kids who are interested,” he said. “Some are showing up because it’s something different, but we see the spark every time. They may not be climbing all over us to get information today, but it’s in there. And I guarantee that this summer they will be looking at the things we talked about.”

Knowledge about different options is key, Sharber said.

“If they come in once, great. If they come in twice, you know you’ve got someone who is interested,” he said. “What it speaks to me is exposure. That’s the in, that they know it exists.”

That’s certainly the case for Aloha High School senior Juan Carlos, who attended a Rosendin event for the first time. None of his family members work in construction; he learned about the event from a teacher. He’s been impressed with the instruction so far, he said.

“I don’t really want to be a person with a lot of debt when you get out of college,” Carlos said as he passed a pair of augmented reality goggles to a fellow student. “I wanted to come here because it always seemed interesting to me, and I wanted to learn important skills because you never know when you’ll need them in life. And now I figure that if I do an apprenticeship I won’t have any debt.”

Rosendin volunteers, including BIM modeler Brandon Penney, showed Carlos and other students how the tools of the trade work.

“We do this with a lot of schools,” Penney said.

He pointed at a semi-enclosed space containing metal-stud framing, conduit, receptacles and other items.

“This whole setup is a mock-up of one of the rooms at Sherwood High School,” he said.

Through the augmented reality goggles, Penney showed students how the same layout could be viewed as a 3-D model.

“Our best feedback is the hands-on portions out in the lab,” Sharber said. “So we’re looking at opportunities to expand it.”

The goal, Rosendin business development manager Courtney Hron said is to inform students of career choices they may not have known previously.

“It’s getting them in here and getting them to understand that once they go through that they have an option,” she said. “They can bounce around wherever they want to be.”

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Five contractors in the Portland-metro area are rolling out a program intended to attract mid-career professionals looking to change directions.

Candidates are now being sought for the new Career ReLaunch program – a new approach by builders to address the ongoing shortage of skilled labor. It operates much like a paid internship, except with the additional potential of a full-time job at the end for participants who make the grade.

Skanska USA Building, Rosendin Electric, Apollo Mechanical Contractors, Oregon Electric Group and Charter Mechanical Contractors are the firms involved in the program.

“A couple of years back with the shortage of labor we started changing our recruiting strategy,” said Dennis Huath, a project executive with Apollo Mechanical Contractors. “We started going to business schools for their career fairs and other, different avenues, and we’ve been trying to touch base with people who may not have been introduced to the construction industry.”

Someone will fill an entry-level management position to provide support to project managers and superintendents. The full-time position will start Jan. 6, 2020 and last 11 weeks, all at a Hillsboro job site where the five companies currently are working together.

“Project coordinator is the position we’re recruiting for, and there’s no construction experience necessary,” said Courtney Hron, a business development manager with Rosendin Electric. “We’re really targeting all individuals, including retired military, those who may have experienced temporary health issues, women who take time off from their careers to care for children (and) even former entrepreneurs who have left other careers and want to get back into the workforce. It’s open to all individuals at this point.”

Participants will attend regular meetings with project team members to discuss construction progress, attend client meetings, and work with design firms and other construction companies. Participants also will assist in preparing bid packages and procurement, preparing quotations and change orders, and updating schedules based on project team input, trade contractor progress, and materials delivery.

“The goal is to introduce them to as many facets of the business we run out here as possible in a three-month period,” Huath said. “It’s an opportunity to assess this career and see if it’s something they want to look at full time for a career path, and it’s an opportunity for us to assess them to see if they can sit on our team or possibly work on another team.”

Recruitment is being done via local chambers of commerce and non-construction job boards – both physical and online.

“The places we’re posting this is not where we’d normally look for candidates,” said Katie Coulson, a Skanska USA Building vice president and account manager. “It gives us great access to a talented and diverse pool of applicants that we might never reach otherwise.”

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