Member Perspective: Angelo Farooq on How Closing the Labor-Force Gap Can Fix the Housing Crisis

Bay Area Council Workforce of the Future Co-Chair Angelo Farooq, General Partner for AlphaX Capital, this week (Dec. 9) authored an incisive and compelling commentary for the Los Angeles Times on the massive labor-force shortage in the construction industry that may be the biggest obstacle to solving our housing crisis. 

“The construction industry must add roughly 723,000 workers every year through 2028 just to meet demand. Years of underinvestment in trade education have contributed to a structural shortage that’s now costing the economy an estimated $10.8 billion annually in delayed projects and unbuilt homes. That’s not a future risk; it’s a current cost for every American household in the form of higher rents and home prices… Job sites across the country can’t find electricians, plumbers, framers or HVAC technicians. Projects are delayed, scaled back or canceled. This isn’t just a workforce challenge; it’s a housing and economic growth emergency.”

Farooq thoughtfully outlines a number of strategies and approaches for invigorating the labor-force pipeline.

“The solution can only be a national workforce mobilization on the scale of the housing crisis itself. Federal and state governments should prioritize funding for construction training, through expanded vocational education, apprenticeships and community college partnerships. Congress should ensure workforce dollars for the building trades are included in any infrastructure or competitiveness legislation, just as it has for semiconductor jobs. The private sector should do its part too: Developers and builders ought to sponsor apprenticeship programs and create clear career pathways for young workers and members of underrepresented groups.”

It’s a powerful commentary that is worth your time.