Embrace Bi-directional Mentorships This Year
The construction industry’s severe labor shortage and widening skills gap, exacerbated by retiring skilled workers, can be effectively addressed by implementing bi-directional mentorship programs—especially during National Mentorship Month—that foster mutual learning between experienced and younger employees, enhancing technical skills, safety, leadership, and innovation across all levels.
The construction industry is facing a serious labor shortage, and alongside recruiting difficulties, there is a lack of skills in new hires. According to the Associated General Contractors’ (AGC) 2024 Industry Workforce Analysis, sponsored by Arcoro, 94% of construction firms report trouble filling skilled, craft positions. This “skills gap” is just as important to address.
A skills gap is the difference between the skills an employer needs versus the skills that employees have, and construction is facing an ever-widening gap due to the mass retirement of older, skilled workers. That’s why implementing mentorships is so important.
January is National Mentorship Month, making it the ideal time to start a mentorship program at your business.
What Does a Good Mentorship Program Look Like?
Many companies think mentorships involve an older, seasoned worker taking a younger, “green” worker under their wing. While this is one type of mentor relationship, it really only benefits the younger worker, making it difficult to get experienced workers on board. Instead, consider a bi-directional mentorship program.
Unlike traditional mentor programs where knowledge flows in one direction—from experienced professionals to younger workers—a bi-directional approach encourages learning and collaboration between all levels of employees. While the young worker receives training and advice from an experienced employee, the older worker receives new ideas or perspectives about how to do the job.
Tips for Starting a Mentorship Program
Follow these tips for starting your own bi-directional mentorship program.
Define Your Goals
Before diving in, identify the objectives of your mentor program. Do you want to improve technical skills, enhance safety practices, or build stronger leadership capabilities? Consider how both senior employees and junior team members can benefit from the exchange. For example:
- Senior employees can gain insights into new technologies or innovative construction techniques.
- Junior employees can learn from the wealth of practical, hands-on experience of seasoned workers.
Identify Participants and Pairings
Start by assessing your workforce. Identify employees who have expertise in critical areas and those eager to learn. Pair individuals based on complementary skills:
- A seasoned project manager might mentor a young engineer on leadership while learning about new project management software.
- An experienced welder could guide a new apprentice while receiving insights on modern safety standards.
Make sure to emphasize mutual respect and a willingness to learn on both sides.
Develop a Structured Program
Create a clear framework for the mentorship:
- Set Expectations: Outline goals, responsibilities, and timelines for the program.
- Schedule Regular Check-ins: Establish bi-weekly or monthly meetings to discuss progress and address challenges.
- Provide Resources: Offer training materials, templates, and discussion guides to support effective mentorship.
Incorporate Hands-On Learning
Construction is a hands-on industry, so ensure the program includes practical, on-the-job mentoring. For example:
- Pair mentors and mentees on specific projects to observe and collaborate.
- Use real-world challenges to facilitate problem-solving and skill development.
Create Feedback Loops
To keep the program dynamic and effective, establish regular feedback mechanisms:
- Have participants reflect on their experiences and share success stories.
- Gather input on what’s working and what could be improved.
This feedback will help refine the program over time.
Celebrate Achievements
Recognize and celebrate the growth and contributions of participants. Highlight successful mentor-mentee relationships in company meetings or newsletters to encourage broader participation.
Measure Success
Track key metrics to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, such as:
- Employee satisfaction and retention rates.
- Skill improvements as reported by participants.
- Productivity improvements on projects involving mentor-mentee pairs.
By taking these steps, you can create a thriving bi-directional mentor program that builds stronger teams, improves skill-sharing, and enhances the overall culture of your construction company.
Here’s How Arcoro can Help
Arcoro’s Core HR and Learning Management solutions provide companies with the data and insights needed to manage and develop their employees.
With Core HR, managers have access to reports that track employee goals, training and achievements, positions, KPIs, and more. This information can be used to pair employees in the program.
Arcoro’s Learning Management offers advanced analytics that gives managers an at-a-glance view of where people are on their development path, and whether they have the knowledge and certifications you need now, or if they would benefit from having a mentor.
Arcoro’s HR tech gives construction companies the ability to streamline processes while providing them with the data and insights they need to make strategic decisions for the future of the company.
Ready to strengthen your workforce? Contact us today to see how our solutions can future-proof your workforce.
Related
Are You Ready for 2025’s Workforce Challenges?
Contractors in 2025 continue to face significant workforce challenges, particularly a severe shortage of skilled construction workers—exacerbated by 7.4 million job openings nationwide, 288,000 in construction alone, widespread recruitment difficulties reported by 94% of firms, project delays affecting over half of contractors, and long-term trends such as fewer young people entering trades, competition from other industries, wage demands, and skill gaps.
Use Mentorships to Future-Proof Your Leadership Pipeline
The construction industry faces a leadership shortage due to retiring experienced workers and a skills gap, which can be addressed by implementing bi-directional mentorship programs that simultaneously develop emerging leaders and capture institutional knowledge by fostering mutual learning between seasoned professionals and junior employees, especially during National Mentorship Month.
Tackling the Talent Gap in Construction
The 2024 AGC and Arcoro Workforce Survey reveals that despite employing over 8 million workers, the US construction industry faces a significant skilled labor shortage causing project delays, prompting companies to focus on culture-driven recruitment, upskilling, and retention strategies, though many have yet to fully leverage technology and data analytics for workforce management and strategic planning.
Demographic Shifts Heighten the Competition for Workers
The construction industry's worker shortage, reported by 94% of firms in 2024, is being intensified by global demographic shifts including declining birth rates since 2007, an aging population, and a shrinking pool of 18-year-olds entering the workforce, with projections indicating over 85 million unfilled jobs by 2030 and a 15% decrease in 18-year-olds by 2039, compounded by a decline in men over 20 participating in the labor force due to retirement and social challenges.
Building a Skills Development Program That Actually Retains Construction Workers
The article emphasizes that addressing the construction industry's workforce crisis requires not just hiring but retaining workers through structured skills development programs that engage employees, improve retention, reduce hiring costs, and enhance work quality by offering formal training, coaching, mentoring, and learning opportunities that make employees feel valued and invested in the company's future.
How HR Software is Shaping the Future of the Construction Workforce
During Construction Careers Month, the construction industry highlights the urgent need to address skilled labor shortages and rising operational challenges by leveraging HR technology to attract, hire, and retain talent while improving workforce management and efficiency amid increasing material costs and tight project demands.