CoSci graduates in high demand at jobsites throughout the state

High demand for graduates of Texas A&M’s Department of Construction Science has led to a doubling of the department’s enrollment in just four years, said its head, Joe Horlen, on [KBTX-TV] (http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Shortage-of-skilled-workers-creates-challenge-for-BCS-construction-boom-409709095.html) .

The demand also reflects a shortage of workers in the industry, said KBTX reporter Courtney Burris in a Jan. 4, 2017 [report] (http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Shortage-of-skilled-workers-creates-challenge-for-BCS-construction-boom-409709095.html) .

One of the department’s 2014 graduates, Zachary Johnson, a project superintendent with Schaefer Custom Homes, said he had job offers in Austin, Houston and Dallas, but stayed in the Brazos Valley because of the region’s growth.

Several of his company’s jobsites in the area are inactive because there aren’t enough workers, he said.

“The long term remedy is to get more people involved in the industry over time … it's a slow process to catch up with the demand," said Horlen.