Williams said the cyclical nature of the business still concerns students, who ask if the boom will last. But signs are on the horizon that industrial demand is on the upswing, said Dickie Jones, manager of craft development and training for Fluor Signature Services in La Porte. With the deregulation of electric power, several companies are building power plants in Texas and around the United States, Jones said. And the efforts to improve air quality in Texas will also employ a lot of welders, pipe fitters and electricians. The news about fewer construction jobs comes at a time when the industry is facing an image problem.
Young folks are more interested in computer-related careers than slinging hammers in hot weather.
Williams likes to quote a study of high school students who rated the desirability of 250 careers. Construction came in 248th, just before migrant farm workers and commercial fishermen. There's so much demand for construction workers that many construction companies have been lowering their standards. Williams speculated that if a survey was taken of good-size contractors, all of them would love to replace 25 percent of their employees. But there is so much work that contractors will hire folks with erratic work histories or those lacking in job skills.