CEA National Issues Conference 2025: Building Construction’s Future

In early May 2025, construction industry leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. for the Construction Employers of America (CEA) National Issues Conference. Over the span of May 6–8, discussions centered on four pillars vital to the industry’s future: workforce development, infrastructure policy, technology adoption, and legislative priorities. Each of these topics carries a significant impact on how the construction sector grows and thrives. The tone at the conference was optimistic yet urgent – industry stakeholders know that addressing these areas is essential to building construction’s future. This post explores key insights from the event, backed by real-world data and expert commentary.

Workforce Development: Confronting the Labor Shortage  

Construction firms nationwide continue to face a shortage of skilled workers, spurring new efforts in workforce development. The construction industry’s workforce challenge dominated the conversation. Contractors across the country report difficulty finding qualified craft workers to fill positions. In fact, the outlook for labor is stark: the industry needs to hire an estimated 546,000 additional workers in 2023 on top of normal hiring to meet demand. This demand is driven by booming project volume and retirements outpacing new entrants. In 2022, construction job openings averaged over 390,000 per month – the highest level on record. The unemployment rate for construction hit just 4.6% that year, a near-record low, leaving a very shallow pool of available skilled labor.

Industry economists warn that the shortage is not only in sheer numbers but also in skills. “With nearly one in four construction workers older than 55, retirements will continue to whittle away at the construction workforce,” said Anirban Basu, Chief Economist of Associated Builders and Contractors. Seasoned workers take years of expertise with them. Meanwhile, younger workers are entering at a slower pace and often with less experience, creating a skills gap at job sites. Craft professionals like carpenters, electricians, and welders are in especially short supply as fewer young people pursue these trades.

Workforce development has thus become a top priority. Construction leaders are calling for renewed investment in training programs, education, and outreach to attract new talent. “Exposing students and other future workers to construction will signal that it should be among the career paths worth considering,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, CEO of AGC of America. Indeed, industry associations and contractors are ramping up efforts in high schools, community colleges, and through apprenticeship programs to rebuild the pipeline of talent. The union sector, for example, invests over $1 billion annually in apprenticeship training programs, producing highly skilled journeyworkers without burdening taxpayers. Open-shop contractors likewise report significant spending – an estimated $1.6 billion in 2022 – on upskilling their workforce and training initiatives. These investments are critical to close the skills gap.

Contractors are also raising wages aggressively to attract talent. Average hourly earnings for field construction roles reached $33.94 in early 2024, up 6.7% year-over-year. Many firms are offering bonuses and improved benefits. Yet despite these steps, 83% of contractors in recent surveys still report difficulty filling salaried and craft positions, and more than half have had projects delayed due to labor shortages. As Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, observed, “Contractors still want to hire more workers… but the pool of unemployed, experienced jobseekers keeps shrinking.” In response, industry leaders are urging creative solutions – from expanding career and technical education in schools to exploring immigration avenues for supplemental construction labor. “The construction industry must recruit hundreds of thousands of qualified, skilled professionals each year,” emphasized Michael Bellaman, CEO of ABC, underscoring the scale of the challenge. Workforce development emerged from the conference not just as a talking point, but as an imperative mission for the industry.

Infrastructure Policy: Fueling Construction Growth  

Hand-in-hand with workforce discussions was a focus on infrastructure policy. Federal infrastructure investment is a major driver of construction activity and labor demand. The passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in late 2021 was heralded as a once-in-a-generation funding boost to rebuild America’s aging roads, bridges, transit systems, and utilities. That bipartisan law is now in full swing, funneling billions into projects that contractors are busy bidding and building. It dedicates about $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit, $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, and $55 billion for water and wastewater systems, among other categories. This surge of work is energizing the construction sector. “The bipartisan group of senators have produced a bill that will dedicate substantial resources to repair, maintain and upgrade our nation’s physical infrastructure,” noted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer upon its passage. For contractors, that translates into backlogs of highway, transit, airport, and utility projects moving from plans to shovels in the ground.

Industry leaders at the CEA conference stressed that sound infrastructure policy doesn’t end with one bill; it requires consistent, long-term commitment. They pointed to the importance of fully funding and implementing programs under IIJA, as well as enacting periodic reauthorizations like the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). In late 2024, Congress advanced a new WRDA with $17 billion for Army Corps water projects and authorized $50 million for construction workforce training grants related to those projects. Such measures both create construction jobs and help develop the skilled workers to fill them. “We are pleased to see bipartisan support for these commonsense policies,” one industry government affairs director noted, emphasizing that initiatives from infrastructure funding to workforce grants enjoy broad backing.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has consistently graded U.S. infrastructure in mediocre condition (a “C-” overall) and identified a multi-trillion-dollar investment gap. Conference panelists echoed that modernizing infrastructure is not only an economic issue, but one of public safety and competitiveness. Upgraded highways, transit lines, ports, and broadband networks all spur private investment and improve efficiency for businesses. With the federal government’s historic investments now flowing, construction firms are gearing up for a sustained wave of projects. However, this wave further amplifies the urgency of the workforce shortage – there is plenty of work to do, but who will do it? As funding ramps up, contractors are coordinating with policymakers to ensure that training and education initiatives keep pace with infrastructure spending.

Technology Adoption: Transforming the Jobsite  

The construction industry has long been notorious for lagging in productivity and technology adoption. But that narrative is changing quickly. At the conference, experts highlighted how technology is reshaping construction practices and could be key to overcoming labor and efficiency challenges. “Advancements in technology will continue to modernize the construction industry in 2025. The sector is more readily implementing technologies like BIM, digital twins, robotics, and automation,” one Deloitte industry outlook reported. From the back office to the jobsite, construction firms are embracing digital tools to work smarter and safer.

Drones, for example, are now a common sight above project sites, used for surveying, inspections, and progress tracking. This wide adoption of drones is facilitating precise surveying even when surveyors are not physically present, notes Deloitte. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become standard for large projects, allowing for 3D coordination and clash detection before anything is built in the field. Meanwhile, contractors are piloting robotics for repetitive tasks like rebar tying and bricklaying, and deploying wearable technology to improve safety. A recent industry survey found that 81% of large construction firms use mobile field-management platforms, and about 40% are using or testing robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline workflows. This uptick in tech adoption represents a cultural shift in a traditionally low-tech sector.

Leaders from construction technology firms also weighed in. Rob Painter, CEO of Trimble, underscored the big-picture value of tech: “Technology has the potential to help solve many of construction’s pain points, such as a lack of workers and the need to reduce emissions.” In other words, modernizing through tech is not just about convenience – it directly addresses workforce constraints by boosting productivity per worker, and it helps the industry meet sustainability goals. For instance, machine control systems on equipment can enable one operator to do the work that might have taken two or three people in the past, partially mitigating labor shortages. Digital collaboration tools also cut down on costly rework and delays, making each project more efficient. Technology adoption was framed at the conference as an investment in resilience: firms that leverage innovation will be better positioned to handle high project demand with limited manpower, while also improving safety and quality. As one speaker put it, construction is “finally entering the digital age in earnest,” and the competitive advantages are becoming clear.

Legislative Priorities: A Pro-Construction Agenda  

Given the workforce, infrastructure, and tech challenges discussed, it’s no surprise that legislative priorities were a focal point at the CEA National Issues Conference. Union contractors and industry associations are advocating a robust policy agenda to support construction growth. Key priorities include: investment in workforce development, balanced labor regulations, sustained infrastructure funding, and tax policies that spur construction and equipment modernization.

On workforce issues, industry groups are pushing lawmakers for increased funding of career and technical education programs and support for registered apprenticeship. There is also interest in immigration reform that could relieve labor shortages – ABC, for example, has called for a new visa program to bring in qualified foreign craft workers in sectors with extreme shortages. Additionally, ensuring fair competition remains important. Union-aligned contractors emphasize protecting prevailing wage laws (Davis-Bacon) and cracking down on worker misclassification to level the playing field. These measures prevent undercutting by unscrupulous firms and help maintain standards for wages and training. Another priority carried into 2025 is multiemployer pension reform and allowing more flexible retirement plan options for union contractors. Legislative fixes here strengthen the financial foundation of the construction workforce.

Infrastructure policy naturally stays at the top of the legislative agenda as well. Industry leaders want to see the timely allocation of funds from IIJA, the bipartisan CHIPS Act (which is generating construction of semiconductor plants), and the Inflation Reduction Act (driving clean energy projects). They are also gearing up to advocate for the next surface transportation bill and other long-term capital programs. The message to Congress is that predictable, long-range infrastructure investment yields economic dividends and allows contractors to plan ahead and keep crews employed.

Tax and economic policy round out the priorities. Construction executives favor tax incentives that encourage investment in new equipment, technology, and building projects. For instance, making permanent the expense of capital investments and expanding incentives for energy-efficient buildings were highlighted as smart policies to boost construction activity. Conversely, proposals that could hamper development – like onerous regulations or uncertainty in permitting – are closely watched. At the conference, there was a palpable sense that the new Congress and Administration (post-2024 elections) should focus on bipartisan, pro-construction measures. “There has been widespread bipartisan support for almost every one of these commonsense policies… With the Administration’s endorsement, we are confident these legislative initiatives will enjoy even wider bipartisan support in the incoming Congress,” Stan Kolbe, a CEA coalition representative, wrote in a letter to federal officials. In sum, the industry’s legislative wish list is about enabling construction firms to do what they do best: build America’s infrastructure, buildings, and economy, with a well-trained workforce and minimal unnecessary hurdles.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 CEA National Issues Conference made it clear that the construction industry is tackling big challenges head-on. Workforce development, infrastructure policy, technology adoption, and smart legislation are deeply interconnected — progress in each area reinforces the others. As the construction market stays strong (U.S. construction spending topped $2 trillion in 2024 and employment hit an all-time high of 8.3 million workers), the focus is on sustaining that growth responsibly. Industry leaders are proactively engaging with policymakers and leveraging innovation to ensure the opportunities ahead don’t falter for lack of labor or support.

The takeaway is one of cautious optimism: by investing in people, pushing for forward-thinking policies, and embracing new technologies, the construction sector can overcome its headwinds. The issues discussed — from the labor shortage to infrastructure investment — are not overnight fixes. But with collaboration between industry and government, they are solvable. In the words of one conference panelist, “We have the tools and knowledge to build our way out of these challenges.” Through continued advocacy and adaptation, the construction industry is determined to build not just projects, but a stronger foundation for its future.