Ohio is sitting on a big opportunity, and we cannot blow it. Factories, power plants, roads, and data centers are being built across the state. But there is a serious problem: we do not have enough skilled workers to do the job.
The numbers tell the story. The U.S. construction industry needs to hire 349,000 new workers this year just to keep up. Ohio alone needs about 14,000 more skilled workers in 2026. Without them, projects fall behind, costs go up, and the economic growth we are counting on slows down. That is not a maybe. That is what happens.
Businesses are not sitting around waiting for the government to fix this. Construction companies across the country spend more than $1.5 billion every year training workers in skilled trades, safety, and new technologies. Ohio companies are doing their part too, working with schools and using state programs to train the next generation of tradespeople.
But the state is getting in its own way. There are not enough teachers in trade programs at high schools and technical schools. Experienced tradespeople who want to teach face too much red tape to get into the classroom. The state should make it easier for skilled workers to teach, and should give tax credits to employers who let their workers take time to train younger workers.
The state also needs to let more companies compete for public construction jobs. House Bill 512 would stop rules that lock smaller, local, and minority-owned businesses out of public projects. House Bill 513 would give local governments more flexibility on wage rules, so more companies can afford to bid on public work.
These are not complicated ideas. They are common sense. But somehow common sense keeps getting lost in the hallways of the Statehouse.
Here is the bottom line: doing nothing costs money. Worker shortages push up prices, delay projects, and raise costs for local governments, which means higher property taxes for Ohio families. Other states are competing for the same businesses and workers. When opportunity knocks elsewhere, people follow.
Ohio's construction industry supports hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. It is time for the legislature to pass HB 512 and HB 513, clear the path for trade instructors, and build the workforce Ohio needs.