Can the construction industry use L&D to build a more resilient and adaptable workforce?

May 27, 2025 | Articles, Employee Training and Employee Experience Design

Key Takeaways:

  • Investing in learning and development ensures sustainability and competitiveness in the ever-changing construction industry.
  • Soft skills like emotional intelligence, communication, and problem-solving enhance customer experience and adaptability during project changes.
  • Cross-training workers in multiple roles increases on-site flexibility and mitigates staffing challenges in the construction industry.
  • Fostering a culture of continuous learning builds resilience and equips workers to adapt to rapidly evolving skill demands.

The architecture, engineering, and construction (ACE) industry is currently dealing with a talent shortage. According to research from Deloitte, the sector had an average of 382,000 job openings each month between 2023 and 2024, a problem that’s been ongoing for the last few years. It’s been difficult for construction firms to attract employees, including both skilled and unskilled laborers.  

Unfortunately, this is not a problem that is likely to solve itself. Because the construction industry is expected to grow in the near future — particularly with the construction of data centers and other similar projects —  the talent gap is only likely to get bigger.

The construction skills gap is further exacerbated by the need for new skills: 44% of the skill requirements in the field are expected to change over the next five years. There’s a growing  demand for digital skills and soft skills, but traditional skills will continue to be needed. 

In order to build future projects, leaders in the construction industry will first have to build a workforce that will meet the needs of that future: agile, resilient workers who are as comfortable with digital skills as they are with traditional construction knowledge.

How can learning create a more resilient construction workforce? 

An agile, adaptable workforce is essential for businesses in any sector, but in the construction industry, which frequently faces major changes, such as supply chain issues and the introduction of new technologies, it’s especially important.

Learning and Development (L&D) initiatives can help develop the existing workforce, and may also go a long way toward attracting new talent who value learning. 

  1. Digital upskilling – Emerging technologies are revolutionizing the construction industry. Building information modeling (BIM), which is used to generate digital representations of projects, is becoming more sophisticated using data to create more detailed digital models of buildings. Robotics and AI are also changing the industry, with robots actually performing construction tasks and AI being used in business applications. L&D is essential when new technology is introduced. Existing workers need to know how best to use these new digital tools, and training can also help minimize the anxiety employees might feel about the switch to digital tools. For example, some workers may worry their jobs will be automated, but training can show them that new tools won’t replace their jobs, it will simply change their responsibilities.
  2. Compliance – With new technologies come new regulations. For example, theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published the first global standards governing BIM. In order to remain compliant, it’s important to provide construction employees training on the latest compliance standards, and keep them up to date when laws and standards change.
  3. Soft skill training – The construction industry is known for hard skills — obviously knowing how to design and build a project requires a number of crucial hard skills. However, customers increasingly expect high levels of customer service. Soft skills — also called interpersonal skills — make it possible for your team to provide a high level of customer experience during a project. Building emotional intelligence, communication, and problem-solving skills at all levels helps teams adapt during project changes or disruptions.
  4. Cross training – The market is always changing, and construction firms need to be prepared for the possibility of being short-staffed. Teaching workers multiple roles or functions enhances flexibility on-site, making your team more agile. It also helps your team do more with less when you can’t find the right talent for a role, or if a key member of your team leaves for another position.
  5. Developing a culture of continuous learning – One of the most important skills to develop in your workforce is learning itself. Because skills are changing so rapidly, the best workers are those who are able to learn quickly and autonomously — those who are able to identify the skills they need to learn and who are able to start some of that development on their own. By fostering a culture of learning in your organization, you are making your team resilient. 

L&D and the construction industry

Change is nothing new for the construction industry. Builders are always dealing with transitions: new technologies are always being introduced, the supply chain is always shifting, and new regulations change the way projects are built. Being able to pivot quickly to serve your customers is an important part of dealing with that change. 

L&D can provide the bridge between your team’s current capabilities and the evolving demands of the construction industry. Investing in learning is a strategic move toward long-term sustainability and competitiveness in the AEC market.

Are you looking to enhance the adaptability and resilience of your construction team? Litmos learning management systems (LMS) makes training construction teams easy with AI-powered solutions available across devices, online and offline, in 37 languages (and counting). Prepare your workforce for the future of construction: start your free trial of Litmos today to get started!