Construction turns college students’ heads from tech sector
Zachary Phillips
September 6, 2023
As the industry ramps up outreach, the number of computer and data science majors applying to construction jobs has doubled, according to a new report.
Laura Cosgriff gets daily phone calls from local contractors looking for students to employ — and the frequency of those calls has increased in recent years.
The construction technology coordinator for Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, said the volume of calls is so high she’s developed a canned response and an email format to respond to employers, telling them she’ll share the job posting with her associate’s degree or certificate students and relevant instructors.
As the industry struggles to staff jobsites, contractors have ramped up the pursuit of the next generation of builders with vigor.
For instance, construction employers increased outreach to students on Handshake, a career-finding platform focused on college students, by 46% over the past year, according to a report from the company. Employers also increased internship postings.
Barbara Lopez-Santana, 26, a recent graduate of Florida International University, had one of those internships at construction management firm Moss & Associates in Miami. That three-month stint morphed into a yearlong stay and on Monday, Lopez-Santana started her first day as a full-time employee.
