If there was a silver lining from COVID, it was the renewed vigor for the trades. As of this writing, the construction industry is still facing a shortage of an estimated half a million workers. “There are structural factors, including outsized retirement levels, megaprojects in several private and public construction segments and cultural factors that encourage too few young people to enter the skilled construction trades. There are also structural factors, including those related to interest rates, consumer sentiment and general economic performance,” says Anirban Basu, ABC Chief Economist. Well, there’s always concurrent trade school education, on-the-job training and continued education whether through industry associations or manufacturing training.