5 strategies on how to hire construction workers

Hiring construction workers is one of the most important functions of running a construction business. Your team is everything. Schedules, budget adherence, and quality of work all depend on who’s on the crew. But with wages rising and project pipelines full, competition for qualified workers is high, and contractors who wait until a project is awarded to start recruiting are already behind.

In this guide, we’ll cover how to hire construction workers with a clear, proactive plan.

The growing demand for construction workers

While the demand for construction workers hits record highs, the supply of skilled workers is moving in the opposite direction. This gap creates a volatile market as contractors work twice as hard to secure critical talent.

Roughly one in five construction workers is already over the age of 55 and preparing for retirement. When portions of the workforce age out and retire, they take decades of specialized knowledge and skills with them. Simultaneously, fewer young workers are entering the trades, due in part to a lack of exposure to vocational training in schools and a preference for a four-year degree. As a result, contractors face shrinking pools of workers who hold the right licenses, safety certifications, and skills required for the job.

At the exact moment the workforce is thinning, the project pipeline is overflowing. Recent federal infrastructure investments have directed billions of dollars toward public works projects. And the push to create AI data centers and advanced energy facilities means the demand for skilled laborers has grown, and continues to grow.

These competing forces change the hiring landscape. Because of the high workload and small talent pool, the market has become hyper-competitive in four ways:

• Short hiring cycles: Top-tier candidates are often off the market within 48 hours.
• Wage competition: For most construction workers, pay is the deciding factor when choosing where to work. Contractors who can’t meet or exceed market rates will lose candidates to those who can.
• Retention issues: Skilled tradespeople often move between companies for better benefits, higher pay, or more consistent schedules, making it a challenge for contractors to keep experienced team members.
• Seasonal jobs: In most places, there’s more construction activity in the spring and summer than in colder months. This means hiring spikes seasonally across the industry and competition for talent in local markets intensifies.

Defining construction labor staffing goals

The best way to make sure you hire the right people (both from your perspective and theirs) is by clearly defining your labor needs. Here are a few factors to consider before bringing people on.

Start with the project pipeline.

Analyze upcoming projects and estimate how many workers you likely need. If you just won a big contract and are breaking ground in six months, your priority is making sure you have the team in place to get the work done on time.

When reviewing your project pipeline, also consider which projects need specialized tradespeople versus general laborers and align recruiting efforts with your needs. That way, nobody is scrambling at the last minute with an understaffed crew, and you’re not paying a premium to fill labor gaps on short notice.

Define the right workforce mix.

The foundation of any contractor’s workforce is the skilled tradespeople core to the business: the electricians, pipefitters, or ironworkers whose work defines what your company does. These workers, along with positions that require institutionalized knowledge and continuity, like superintendents and safety officers, are best suited as full-time hires. Subcontractors are a good fit for specialized tasks outside your company’s core work. And temporary laborers are great for filling short-term needs during peak phases. Getting this mix right keeps overhead manageable during slow periods and gives you the capacity to scale up for bigger contracts.

Align hiring and onboarding timelines.

Fully finish the onboarding process before boots hit the ground. This includes background checks, certifications, and safety training. Otherwise, you’ll be scrambling through onboarding to get new employees productive ASAP, and people might be on the job before they’re properly trained.

Tie hiring objectives to a long-term growth strategy.

Hire with the future in mind. If you’re planning on growing, it makes sense to hire more permanent hires. If not, lean into leveraging temporary laborers. This also pertains to project types. If you’re a mechanical contractor looking to expand into plumbing or electrical work, for example, you need licensed tradespeople with those skills before you can take on that work.

How to hire construction workers: 5 strategies

With clear goals in place, it’s time to focus on execution. Use the following five techniques to attract qualified employees.

1. Incentivize referrals from current employees and local networks.

Workers usually know other talented people in the construction industry, so take advantage of that familiarity. Create a formal employee referral program that offers a bonus to both the current employee and the new hire after 90 days of successful probationary employment. 

Referrals often stick around longer because they have a personal connection with someone at your company. Plus, they’re often a better fit for the role since someone who already knows what the work is like referred them and can tell them about it before they apply. With this built-in vetting process, contractors can hire employees with more confidence.

2. Work with trade schools and apprenticeship programs.

Build formal partnerships with instructors and program directors at trade schools and apprenticeship programs to find students/apprentices looking for work.

Apprenticeship programs typically have two distinct tracks, and the right one depends on whether a contractor is union or open shop. 

• Union apprenticeships run through Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs), which are jointly administered by trade unions and contractor associations.
• Non-union apprenticeships are accessed through organizations like Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

Both are designed to place workers with employers. Reach out to your local JATC or association chapters to access this workforce; doing so consistently means you’ll likely stand out among the group of contractors asking around.

3. Use an ATS that posts job opportunities on job boards.

Construction hiring is competitive, and the qualified candidate pool is thin. You need to post broadly, screen efficiently, and move fast once you find someone who looks like a good fit. 

A modern Applicant Tracking System (ATS) pushes openings to multiple job boards in one step, saving time and expanding reach. Good systems also help prequalify applicants via customizable screening questions and requirement checks. This ensures only candidates who meet the specific criteria move forward in the hiring process. 

A construction-specific platform like Miter connects recruiting and hiring directly to onboarding and payroll, so a candidate’s information carries through from application to first paycheck without manual re-entry. The platform’s built-in ATS lets you post jobs, manage applicants, and move candidates through your pipeline, all without juggling separate tools. Once you’re ready to hire, new employees can complete onboarding paperwork digitally before day one, with I-9s, W-4s, and e-signiatures handled automatically.

4. Use social media.

Meet younger workers where they’re at by using platforms like Instagram and TikTok. To highlight the company culture, show off construction job sites and share behind-the-scenes moments. Social media posts may even reach people who aren’t actively searching on job boards, helping companies connect with a larger pool of potential candidates. 

5. Promote the value of a career in the trades.

Many students are unaware of the high earning potential and career stability available in skilled trades positions in the construction industry. Visit high schools and community colleges to share realistic information about wages and career progression, using success stories from team members to pique their interest. These strategies might take years to translate to hired workers, but it’s a great way to build a pipeline and strengthen your brand’s identity in the community.

Best practices for long-term construction hiring success

For long-term success, companies need a more predictable talent supply. Here are a few ways to improve the construction hiring process:

• Build a strong employer brand: A company’s reputation will influence applicants. Make sure current employees speak well of the organization by focusing on safety, defining and following core values, and creating a strong company culture.
• Use data to measure recruitment effectiveness: Track where the best hires come from, like trade school partnerships or referrals. If one strategy produces more high-quality workers than another, allocate the budget accordingly.
• Standardize hiring workflow: Create a standard interview process and onboarding checklist. Clear workflows reduce bias and improve time to hire and onboarding speed.
• Develop internal training and upskilling programs: Invest in the current workforce by paying for OSHA 30 cards and relevant certifications, and helping skilled tradespeople to move into foreman roles. Training people continuously and covering the cost of certifications also show that employers care about their team’s long-term growth, encouraging workers to stay at their companies.
• Offer competitive pay and benefits: To attract strong talent, offer competitive wages, robust benefits package, and retirement matching. Construction is a demanding and high-risk industry, so workers will want to know they have coverage when accidents happen. Consider adding performance-based bonuses as a further incentive.

Hiring well doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a proactive process: sourcing the right candidates, moving quickly, and getting new hires through onboarding before boots hit the ground.

Miter simplifies the hiring process by bringing recruiting, HRIS, and human capital management into one place. In a single centralized platform, team members can post jobs, hire workers, and manage employee data. 

Miter’s recruiting tools include hosted career pages, integrations with job boards, and QR code job postings. Our platform offers granular control, letting you add custom application questions and store applicants in a filterable candidate database for future roles. Plus, you can text application links to prospects and communicate with applicants via text, meeting your potential workforce where they’re at.

Once a candidate is hired, their information transfers to HR, payroll, and benefits with one click, reducing manual entry and helping crews get on-site faster.