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June 23, 2005

Construction Industry Spotlight: CM grads: another hot commodity

  • State universities don't have the funding to handle all the students that want to get into their construction management programs.
    • By JOHN C. RYAN
    Journal Staff Reporter

    When demand exceeds supply, market forces are supposed to restore the balance. But when it comes to hiring project managers, construction companies shouldn't expect relief from a tight market any time soon.


    ‘I could certainly place twice as many students as I graduate with no problem.'

    -- Greg Kessler,
    WSU

    The state's three construction management programs — at the University of Washington, Washington State University and Central Washington University — crank out about 110 graduates a year, but they are unable to keep pace with demand from a surging industry.

    Lean budgets at state universities keep the programs from growing.

    Some trades have a hard time drawing young people. But college students, lured by the prospect of making $45,000 or more their first year out of school, are flocking to construction management programs — only to be turned away. UW gets about 90 pre-screened applicants and turns half of them down; WSU takes about 30 students from about 100 applicants.

    Nick Weymouth, who graduated last year from WSU's construction management program, said he got three job offers before signing on with Sellen Construction as a field engineer in Seattle.

    "Pretty much everybody in my class, we all had jobs before we graduated," he said.

    In fact, students at all three programs are getting multiple job offers long before they graduate.

    "This year, for the first time, companies were interviewing students from the day we started in September," said John Schaufelberger, chair of UW's Department of Construction Management.

    Greg Kessler, head of WSU's School of Architecture and Construction Management, said most of his students get multiple job offers and have jobs lined up by December of their senior year.

    "I could certainly place twice as many students as I graduate with no problem," he said.

    Leanne Liddicoat, with Associated General Contractors of Washington Education Foundation, advises potential employers to act even earlier. Many students sign up for internships their junior year and stick with those companies after graduating.

    "You can't wait until they're seniors," she said.

    While some construction management programs in other states are expanding, Washington's programs have little hope of keeping up with the demands of both students and the industry, given the state government's budgetary constraints.

    "There's a huge interest among students in construction management programs, and there's a huge demand in the industry," said Curt Boyd of PCL Construction Services. "I really believe the schools themselves need to reallocate resources."

    Hiring from out of state is always a possibility, but labor markets for construction are tight throughout the West. Construction employment in nine western states surged 7.5 percent from May 2004 to last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction jobs in Washington state grew 5.3 percent over that period.

    Universities are turning to the industry for funding, but the effort may not relieve the crunch.

    WSU has one industry-funded professor of construction management and is beginning to raise funds to renew that position for three more years. CWU has one faculty position half-funded by industry donations, and UW is trying to raise funds to expand its program.

    The AGC of Washington Education Foundation mostly gives scholarships directly to students rather than supporting whole programs.

    Liddicoat said Florida and California have considered taxing contractor registration licenses to support construction education, but no one is looking into such fees in Washington.

    Joe Constance of Rafn Co. said his firm heavily supports the Construction Industry Training Council of Washington, which offers apprenticeships and training for craftspeople, not construction managers.

    "We put our effort and our mentoring skills behind training craftspeople, that's generally where our biggest demand is," he said.

    Constance said Rafn has had to put more effort into hiring all sorts of employees, but it hasn't been stymied by the tight labor market yet.

    "So far we've been able to get the help that we need, it just takes more time."



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