Based on the tremendous growth in Florida’s population over the next two to three decades, we are also facing issues that will challenge our ability to reap full benefits financially and organizationally from the growth. The greatest challenge that the construction industry faces is the ability to attract qualified personnel, particularly in those trades that require years of training before the individual(s) can reach skill levels where they are able to obtain the appropriate certifications. An example would be the MEP trades (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) that are so critical to most vertical construction projects. According to the most recent information available, the average age of fully trained and qualified people working in those trades in the South Florida market is over 55 years old.

Although trade schools are making a comeback, through the 80s and 90s, society seemed to be pushing and financing the idea of getting a 4-year college degree rather than learning a trade. The decades gap in not putting an emphasis on the trades and providing more availability of training could negatively impact our ability to find enough qualified personnel to pursue the extensive amount of construction opportunities our growth will demand.

As we look at the Macro Consequences of Florida’s growth in the next two to three decades, it is easy to get lost in the very comfortable idea that there will be sufficient profitable work for every construction company domiciled in Florida. As true as that may be, the unintended consequences of the hyper growth we are facing will be the extreme changes that will have to take place in the construction entities that now play a leading role in Florida infrastructure projects.

Looking at the potential growth (Florida’s population could double in the next 25 years), there is no way that the current construction infrastructure that is available for Florida’s growth could even marginally undertake the multi-billions of roads, water, sewers, electric grid upgrades, public and private institutional structures, etc. that will have to be built to accommodate the ‘hoards’ that are looking to make Florida home. The additional available work will bring into our market National, International, and Regional competitors which will create additional competition on all levels and eventually make our great local contractors who have been “big fish in a relatively small pond” – “little fish in a huge pond”. Not all bad, but certainly not all positive.