Demand for construction workers in the Corridor is surging with competition

By B.A. Morelli, The Gazette

Switching from residential to industrial construction may not seem like much of a change.

Construction is construction, right? Not exactly.

The concepts are similar but the techniques are all different, said Craig Pickens, a carpenter working on the new University of Iowa Childrens Hospital in Iowa City.

Theres a learning curve, he said, but after starting in February cleaning plywood on the ground level, hes climbed the ranks and now is laying the top deck.

The promise of better pay and better hours caught Pickenss attention, and hes seized the opportunity by proving himself in an industry hungry for dependable workers.

I started in the basement, now I am working up here, Pickens said from seventh-floor deck of the new hospital on Friday.

The childrens hospital is a prime example of the worker shortage challenging construction projects in Eastern Iowa right now. They face intense competition for workers and cant seem to recruit enough.

The childrens hospital project is only staffed at about a quarter of the 400 people a day that eventually will be on site when construction hits full steam. Staffing already has been difficult.

Its just a bigger job than most people have seen around here, said Terry Theodore, an area superintendent for Gilbane Building Co., which is the project manager for the $357 million, 14-story childrens hospital and parking ramp project.

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Demand for construction workers in the Corridor is surging with competition