This week, your organization's primary contact received an email to renew your company's AGCVA membership. This is a significant change from the paper invoice your company has received in the past, and it will simplify your membership renewal process considerably. AGCVA has a long history of leading Virginia's construction industry, but there are big things in store as we look toward celebrating our 100th year in 2024. We want you to be a part of it all.

The construction industry is growing and the need for qualified and trained professionals is booming right along with it. Ahead of Tuesday evening's Connecting for Success event, AGCVA member Mike Cagle and Build Smart Institute's Rob Leonard sat down with WFXR in Roanoke to discuss both organizations' efforts to educate, train, and help people advance within the construction industry.

Construction workers were among the first groups eligible to receive the vaccine, and industry associations have encouraged voluntary COVID-19 vaccination for their members and employees from the start. The Associated General Contractors of America and Associated Builders and Contractors say a mandate could put a strain on the industry, as well as the country’s infrastructure needs.

A recently released study shows a marked uptick in construction leaders’ optimism and outlook compared to the same study conducted the previous year during the heart of the coronavirus crisis. The second annual Marcum National Construction Survey, conducted in Spring 2021, saw growing optimism among respondents as the economic outlook continued to improve and prospects for long-term growth increased.

While other industries face a “Great Resignation,” in which discontented employees are quitting at an elevated rate, workers in the skilled construction trades report high levels of job satisfaction, according to the second annual Skilled Trades in America report by Angi, formerly known as Angie’s List. According to Angi’s second annual Skilled Trades in America report, high job satisfaction presents an opportunity to combat the labor shortage.

Amid unprecedented challenges with the cost and availability of construction materials, firms locked into contracts based on last year's prices are feeling the heat. At conventions, on Zoom calls and in casual conversation, it's the only thing contractors talk about anymore. Everyone wants to know how everyone else is dealing with the rapid escalation of material prices, a crisis that revved up last spring and shows no signs of slowing down for at least another year.

Data breaches in construction increased 800% from 2019 to 2020, according to a recent study. A cyber security expert talks about how construction contractors can keep their companies safe from data breaches. The construction industry was, at one time, fairly immune to security breaches. But in recent years, there’s been an influx of new technologies and new connections on jobsites that can make companies vulnerable to cyberattacks. 

Rising materials prices make it more important than ever for contractors to limit risk in their agreements with owners. As supply chain disruptions and material pricing volatility continue to rattle the construction industry, the timeline for when contractors might see a return to normalcy has only grown murkier.

Labor force statistics from the 2019 American Community Survey show that more young people are entering the construction trades. According to a recent Eye On Housing blog post by Na Zhao, the share of workers younger than 25 reached 10.8% in 2019, compared with 9.7% in 2015. The median age of the construction workforce was 41 in 2019, a year younger than in 2018. Zhao says this is good news for the long-run objective of bringing in a new generation of skilled labor, but more can be done to recruit and retain younger generations.

Construction has a long way to go to move the needle on diversity and inclusion in its ranks. While the industry’s numbers, compared to the nation’s overall workforce, skew heavily white and male, companies are making efforts to change that. 

In December 2004, Rich McElhaney and his co-workers were learning how to use a water lance – a piece of equipment that uses 20,000 pounds per square inch of pressure to cut through concrete and steel. They were in such a hurry to get through the training that day that they didn’t perform their usual Job Safety Analysis. If they had, they likely would have learned that the person operating the water lance was planning to use it on full power. And that the equipment was set up for a right-handed operator instead of the left-handed worker who was at the controls.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced its preliminary top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2021. The list was presented virtually at the NSC Safety Congress & Expo on Oct. 12.