A newly-released public opinion poll indicates that Americans across the board support a new targeted policy of addressing the highly skilled worker shortages in the design/construction industry. Of particular note, is the strong level of cross-cutting support among those Americans who are also very concerned with illegal immigration and the crisis at the border – and their acceptance of these specific work-type visas to address labor needs.
CIRT is a founding member of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which is a forum addressing common concerns related to legislative, regulatory, legal and other workforce challenges to the industry. CLC seeks to communicate with key Administration, Congressional and state policy leaders, thereby serving as an industry-wide collaborative setting, while seeking creative opportunities to advance shared priorities – such as safety concerns, training/development, and other talent/workforce matters subject public policy. TIPP, a nationally recognized market research and polling firm, publishes leading indicators of consumer confidence and purchasing behavior for specific industries and the economy as a whole – conducted the poll for CLC and released the research data indicating that:
55% of Americans back worker visa programs for essential jobs, with Democrats showing the strongest support (65%) compared to Republicans (49%) and Independents (52%)
Over three-quarters (78%) consider it important to address workforce shortages, which are delaying vital building and infrastructure projects.
Builder-Specific Visas: Two-thirds (64%) support short-term visas for builders, with Democrats strongly favoring these programs (76%), followed by Republicans (59%) and Independents (59%).
Support for a limited short-term visa program to address the construction labor shortage is strong across both sides of the border enforcement debate. 67% of enforcement supporters and 69% of opponents back the measure.
In many regards, possibly the most important finding of the survey is the positive across the board support for targeted ‘specialty occupation’ visas, regardless of the respondent’s views on border control or immigration policy. This critical unified support is even more pronounced when applied to the specialty needs in the design and construction community, where architects, surveyors, and engineers of all types are often in short supply.
For more details and to Read the Report: The Construction Worker Shortage In America: Public Views On The Problem And Potential Solutions
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