A comparative analysis of the utilization of multiskilling among US Hispanic and non-Hispanic construction craft workers

Over the past couple of decades, the US construction industry has experienced an increasing shortage of craft workers, mainly among highly skilled trades, such as pipefitters and electricians. Multiskilling is one workforce strategy that has been traditionally proposed as a pathway to retain the current workforce. This study aims to understand the changes in multiskilling and the influence of race on multiskilling patterns. While many demographic populations of the US construction workforce have declined, the Hispanics population has actually grown. Unfortunately, the growth of the Hispanic workforce has primarily occurred in low-skilled construction trades. While the study finds that there are significant differences in formal training between Hispanic and non-Hispanic workers that possess only a single skill, there are no statistical differences in the formal training between multi-skilled Hispanic and non-Hispanic construction craft workers. Further, there are no difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic trade patterns among craft workers with dual-skills, but differences were found in multiskilling combinations between craft workers with more than two skills. Hence when afforded the same access to education and training, the findings suggest that differences in career progression, as measured by skill attainment across multiple trades, lessen between Hispanics and non-Hispanic construction workers.