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65 CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS 8.1 Introduction The current challenge of the limited availability of construction inspectors for transportation infrastructure encapsulates the much larger issue of the prolonged workforce shortages of construction workers across the entire country. The retirement of the generation that built the U.S. interstate system, followed by periods of recession that put pressure on government budgets, reduced the in-house STA workforce. During the same period, the services the STA offered expanded as they incorporated greater public involvement in the project delivery process, a more comprehensive environmental review, and the development of multi-modal infrastructure, to name a few. The result is fewer STA employees with less experience than their predecessors managing more complex transportation infrastructure projects. Additionally, younger generations in the K- 12 education systems may not view working in construction as a lucrative or enjoyable career path. Considering the increased transportation sector workload, scarcity of resources, and challenges in attracting and retaining employees, workforce development is at the forefront of importance for the U.S. Departments of Education (ED), Transportation (DOT), and Labor (DOL) (ED et al., 2015). The creation and definition of career pathways and the continuous professional development of employees are essential to reestablishing the institutional knowledge that STAs have been losing to retirements and outsourcing work to third-party firms. Furthermore, research succinctly acknowledges that many STAs struggle to maintain technical career paths that reward and support staff development (Cronin et al., 2013; Cronin et al., 2011; Warne, 2003). The motivation for this Guide lies at the intersection of public safety and the career development of construction inspectors as an integral asset to the transportation infrastructure sector. Therefore, the Guide provides assistance that allows STAs to select, align, create, and tailor core competency training, education, certification/qualification, and career development to meet construction inspectors' evolving and expanding needs. 8.2 Guide Development This Guide was created using a two-phase approach. Phase I comprised of gathering current information and data to inform Guide development with defined points for NCHRP panel review and feedback (Tasks 1, 2, and 3). Phase II focused on developing the Guide, vetting it with professionals, making final revisions, and developing the final deliverables. 8.3 Guide Implementation and Keys to Success The first step for STA implementation of the Guide is to decide whether to implement the comprehensive process as a whole or as individual parts, as shown at the beginning of each Guide chapter. The step will be determined, in part, by what effective workforce development programs for construction inspectors already exist within the agency. The Guide addresses four workforce development phases: Recruitment and Demand Practices, Core Competencies, Training and Certification, and Retention and Career Development. While the Guide offers comprehensive knowledge and workforce development practices for construction inspectors, Figure 8-1 identifies direct pathways for specific practices related to Recruitment and Demand, Core Competencies, Training and Certification, and Retention and Career Development. The companion technical
66 memorandum provides detailed information on implementation pathways for STAs to consider when using the Guide. Figure 8-1. Implementation pathways for construction inspector development
67 Other Implementation Considerations While the Guide defines tactical processes for developing a construction inspector workforce, other overarching processes are needed to maximize the benefits of using the Guide. Other activities needed to support workforce development include workforce planning and knowledge transfer. While outside the scope of this Guide, both are critical. As defined here, workforce planning includes analyzing, forecasting, and planning workforce supply and demand, assessing gaps to meet project or system-wide agency demand. For more information on workforce planning related to highway construction, please refer to the results of NCHRP Research Report 923: Workforce Optimization Workbook for Transportation Construction Projects. Knowledge management refers to the effective, efficient, and timely knowledge transfer from the transitioning to the entry and midcareer workforce. In most STAs, a significant proportion of the inspection workforce will be eligible for retirement within a few years. For more information on knowledge transfer, please refer to NCHRP Research Report 813: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation. Finally, an underlying challenge of attracting individuals into nearly all construction-related construction, including construction inspector positions, exists. Attracting a new workforce to construction is an evolving challenge. The need to escalate the recruitment of individuals into highway construction-related occupations appears universal among those who participated in the surveys, interviews, and focus groups conducted for this study. Thus, stakeholders in the highway construction industry should play a role in helping re-establish and strengthen career awareness and education opportunities in highway construction, including the role of highway construction inspectors. Working with other industry stakeholders, including engineering and construction firms, STAs can work toward establishing and expanding collaboration between industry, education, and government to help promote industry involvement and investment in the U.S. training and higher education programs in transportation, engineering, and construction management.
