I know a lady named Patricia who worked as a flagger and service truck driver who put two daughters through medical school.

I know a man named Jim who started his career as a drummer and eventually built one of the most profitable and tightly-run paving operations in the country.

I know a guy named Cesar who began making $13/hour as a laborer. Today, he earns six figures as a superintendent and has lifted his family into prosperity.

These are the stories our industry must tell.

The Crossroads We Face

Construction paid for my college education and shaped my fundamental values. I'm a low-bid civil guy at heart, but everywhere I go, I hear the same refrain: "We're struggling to find people."

Our industry stands at a critical juncture. We're not losing talent to competitors - we're losing them to other industries entirely. Amazon. BMW. Tech startups. Companies that have mastered the art of selling not just a job, but a vision.

The hard truth? Construction has work to do to improve our image. And if we don't act decisively, we risk losing the next generation of builders. This isn’t the 1970s and people are not lined up around the door.

Who We're Really Competing Against

Let's be honest about our competition for talent:

Walmart transformed their recruiting by highlighting career advancement in their advertising. Their "This is that place" campaign showcases employees who started as hourly workers and now manage departments or entire stores. They're selling opportunity, not just jobs. And they’re really good at it.

Costco pays their average worker $24/hour with benefits, creates predictable schedules, and promotes almost exclusively from within. Their employee turnover is just 6% after the first year – unheard of in retail and a fraction of what we see in construction.

Tesla doesn't just hire engineers – they recruit builders, fabricators, and skilled trades by offering them a chance to work on "the most exciting and meaningful projects of their careers." They've made manufacturing sexy again by connecting every role to their mission of accelerating sustainable energy.

Anduril Industries is attracting talent by offering them the chance to build autonomous systems and defense technology. They emphasize rapid prototyping and seeing tangible results quickly to protect our country – sound familiar? It should, because they're using construction's best selling points and packaging them better than we do.

Amazon offers full college tuition coverage for hourly employees after just 90 days on the job. No waiting until retirement to pursue education - they invest in people immediately.

These companies understand something fundamental: today's workforce demands purpose, growth potential, flexibility, and respect. They're not just offering jobs. They're offering better life stories.

Seven Ways to Lose the Next Generation of Builders

1. Bury our human stories. Most people don’t connect with profit margins or production metrics. People care about stories - the humans behind the hard hats. When we fail to showcase how construction transforms lives, we silence our most powerful recruitment tool.

2. Remain inflexible around work schedules and mental health. This is a culture killer, regardless of market. If your response to planned time off is "we're too busy," you've already lost. Today's workforce demands transparency and balance - not perpetual sacrifice.

3. Accept the status quo on safety. The frequency of work zone accidents in this country is unacceptable. We need stronger legislation and better protection for our people. It’s 2025 and sometimes the only thing standing between people who matter and 70 MPH traffic that could easily kill them is a plastic drum. It’s bullshit. We’ve got to do better. Every cone struck and every close call erodes our industry's appeal.

4. Resist technological evolution. I believe operations (office and field) will undergo massive transformation. If you’re not willing to try and potentially fail with new tech and AI, you're not willing to grow. And if you're not growing, you're dying.

5. Create artificial waiting periods for advancement. Why does someone have to wait 20 years to operate a roller? Give people opportunities YOUNG and watch them flourish. Career velocity matters more than ever.

6. Keep your branding minimal and forgettable. Small logos ensure nobody calls about that busted tire while thousands drive through your job site looking for their next opportunity, completely unaware of who you are.

7. Build a social media presence around equipment, not people. If you ever see a photo of someone taken from behind just to showcase your logo on their vest, don't post it. Turn that person around so we can see their face. Make it about them, not about you.

The Work You Do Matters

The competition from other industries won't disappear. But it will make us better - if we choose to evolve.

What sets construction apart is the tangible legacy we create. We can look back and say, "We built that." Behind every project lies a tapestry of human stories - of growth, of challenge, of transformation.

That superintendent who weathered impossible deadlines to deliver a critical infrastructure project? He has a name.

That equipment operator who achieved millimeter precision on that complex grade? She has a journey.

That apprentice who's discovering skills they never knew they had? They have a future we're shaping.

Our Call to Action

Many of you reading this make a direct impact every single day in your companies. You're not just building roads or bridges or site developments. You're building people. You're building careers. You're building lives.

There are some shining examples in the industry. But they are the exception rather than the rule.

Our industry offers something increasingly rare: the opportunity to create something lasting, something that serves communities for generations. We need to showcase this purpose-driven work for what it truly is - not just construction, but contribution.

We need to tell Patricia's story. And Jim's story. And Cesar's story.

We need to tell your story.

The next generation of builders is out there, searching for meaning, for challenge, for the opportunity to say, "I built that." They're looking for exactly what we offer.

It's time we showed them.

We're counting on you.

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About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make software that helps contractors win more work at the right price. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]