我们面临熟练工人的短缺。我们几乎每天都会听到该信息。许多报道说，短缺已经在这里。我们已经听到了原因：老龄化的劳动力，让我们30％的人在最近的低迷中走了，移民政策薄弱，行业形象不好，学生不了解建筑职业机会。现在是关注解决方案的时间了。

The shortage must be solved at the local level, but first we need a national strategy. In mid-February, President Barack Obama wrote a letter of apology to Ann Johns, an art history professor at the University of Texas.

他的信中的最后一句话说：“……[请]理解，我正在努力鼓励那些可能不喜欢四年制大学经验的年轻人接受技术培训，这可以使他们进入光荣的职业生涯。”

The president was responding to an e-mail he received after a Jan. 30 speech in Wisconsin in which he had encouraged the expansion of training programs: "A lot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career, but I promise you, folks can make a lot more potentially with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree."

尽管他显然并不意味着要在公共汽车下投入整个研究领域（艺术史），但我们为总统的要点表示赞赏，这是基于技术技能的职业。新利18备用

五十年前，我们的国家对职业准备很大，但是在过去的30年中，我们几乎完全进入了大学准备。在我们的热情促使学生上大学时，我们仍然对那些“可能不喜欢四年制大学经历的人”，但还不够。那必须改变。

美国商务部长潘妮·普利兹克（Penny Pritzker）和劳工部长汤姆·佩雷斯（Tom Perez）很好地总结了这一点：“良好的劳动力发展是良好的经济发展。”每个社区，县和州都可以从拥有强大的劳动力中受益。当地劳动力策略的核心是更好地表达教育模式，并将这些模式直接与职业道路联系起来（例如，在仍在高中时参加社区大学课程）。关键是使这些连接尽早。

Here is a framework for grassroots efforts that can be implemented locally: Awareness + Connections + Solutions = Employment.

The awareness must start within the industry. It is not just about the need for students or teachers to see the opportunities available in construction (though their awareness is critical too). It is also industry's awareness of local training and apprenticeship programs, of the schools that offer training and of the needs those schools have and how our industry can help them.

有许多可以建立联系的例子。一种是工业直接与在自己社区提供建筑教育的学校的联系。全国有许多成功的本地计划。我们只需要更多。我们还需要知道是什么使他们成功，以及如何复制成功。

最后，建筑行业需要认识到，其他较少碎片的行业也将继续改善其劳动力培训和招聘。那些其他行业（能源，电信等）在努力方面的组织和资助要比建设要好得多。

If our industry hopes to recruit its share of the talented individuals who want to learn a skilled trade, then we must begin coordinating our efforts to find solutions now.