HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Business is booming across the Tampa Bay area and with that comes many road and bridge construction projects. A new initiative is looking to build a pipeline of local labor and fill the need for construction workers.
Charles-Payton Wilson has been in construction for about four years.
“Working with a common team with a common goal in mind trying to get to the same purpose, I find joy in that,” said Wilson, a Senior Field Engineer with Lane Construction. “Also, I get to stretch my legs. I don’t have to be in the office eight hours a day.”
ABC Action News caught up with Wilson and Greg Figler, a Project Director with Lane Construction, at one of their projects in Tampa.
“There’s a lot of work in Tampa,” said Figler. “Luckily, there is a lot of work for us and we’re happy to be a part of that workforce.”
It’s a workforce that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wants to continue building up.
FDOT made a presentation to the Tampa City Council Thursday, explaining that for every individual worker entering the construction workforce, five workers retire.
“With the $6 billion in active construction we have in Tampa Bay, I think we’re estimating we need 20-30,000 new employees to enter the workforce, so it’s a big need,” said Justin Hall, the Director of Transportation Development with FDOT.
FDOT recently created OnBoard Tampa Bay. Hall said it’s a three-pronged approach, starting with job fairs, second, using a website to connect job seekers to community resources and jobs that are available and finally, community engagement.
“If you don’t fill the jobs, it takes longer to complete a project and they have to look elsewhere to bring in employees, and so really, we want to grow this locally, and luckily the demand is there,” said Hall.
People in the industry stressed it’s not just a job but that it's also a career.
“You don’t necessarily have to go to a four-year university. You can get a high school degree and still make a very honest living, still provide for your family,” said Wilson.
FDOT is co-hosting a job fair and business expo in support of the OnBoard Tampa Bay initiative. The event will be held at the Tampa River Center at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park on Tuesday, February 21, with the job fair from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. and the business expo from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
For more information, visit here.
