With commencement week upon us, almost 300,000 students throughout New York State are preparing to enter the workforce after graduating—a sizable amount that accounts for more than the population of Buffalo, NY. While our newly graduated students will join industries such as life sciences, finance, education and more, there is an essential industry and workforce in New York City that is often overlooked and understaffed.
The New York Building Congress forecasts citywide construction spending to grow to $88 billion in 2024. As a result of this anticipated surge, construction jobs are poised to reach 160,000 in 2024. While this projected boom is promising, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander has found inconsistencies with the city’s annual infrastructure assessment that underestimate the need for tradespeople. Lander’s analysis highlights a foreboding trend, in which the city’s true infrastructure needs could be even greater than current projections.
As New York’s more than 150,000 tradespeople are responsible for building our skyline and maintaining our infrastructure, the city’s future will increasingly depend on them. Now is the time to educate and empower the next generation to join this high demand, rewarding, and growing industry, and to take a moment to thank current tradespeople showing up each day to build the future.
Engaging our audience
It’s critical that we convey to current high school students and graduates that trade school can offer a less expensive path to a satisfying career than a traditional college education. The building industry is expected to add almost 19,000 new jobs within three years, according to New York Building Congress research, yet the enrollment rate for programs to train for these skilled jobs in New York is lower than the national average.
Nationally, enrollment for two-year trade institutions focusing on construction training is up 10.01% from 2021. However, New York’s enrollment is significantly lower than the national average, as its two-year institution enrollment has only risen 2.1% from 2021. This trend only reinforces the need to communicate the benefits of a trade-school education to fill the growing void of tradespeople. The average cost of carpentry school in New York ranges anywhere from $12,000 – $24,000, these figures pale in comparison to tuition costs as high as $63,000 per year in the NYC area. Additionally, construction ranked fourth among New York City’s highest-paying employment sectors, boasting an average salary of $87,200.
According to another report from New York City’s comptroller, only 57% of NYC’s high school graduates were ready for college in 2019. Considering this data, promoting trade school as a financially friendly path to building a stable career could help decrease unemployment and lead people toward solid careers.
New York benefits from promoting the skilled trades locally
Filling these important jobs will contribute to the city and surrounding areas’ economic growth, and there is a significant opportunity to build this workforce locally. Take these stats for perspective on the importance of tradespeople to NYC:
- It takes 129,935 miles of electrical cable to power a New Yorker’s cell phone– thank you electricians!
- It takes 1 billion gallons of clean water per day to make the world’s best pizza – thank you, plumbers!
- 4 out of 5 rush-hour commuters use mass transit – thank you, mechanics!
Our tradespeople are the backbone of the city. Equipping and empowering the next generation of New Yorkers to explore opportunities in trade careers will not only help meet the industry’s increasing demand but also stabilize our infrastructure and make room for more development. Let’s continue supporting local investment in talent, entrepreneurship, and the education of our newer generation about the benefits of joining a stable industry in an ever-growing city.
Maria Ford is the president of commercial, industrial and farm & hardware at Stanley Black & Decker.
Maria Ford , 2024-05-08 18:03:03
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