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The recent NCAA Men’s Final Four at the Alamodome marked a significant milestone for San Antonio, bringing the city into the national spotlight. The collaborative efforts of civic leaders, workers and locals created a bustling atmosphere that showcased the benefits of investing in downtown. This celebration highlighted San Antonio’s vibrant culture and ignited a spark for future growth and development.
Following the Final Four, the city is poised for growth with upcoming construction and development projects that will change downtown for generations. For these projects to evolve from concept to reality, everyone must work together seamlessly to ensure success.
While the construction industry faces challenges with the current labor shortage and skills gap, addressing these issues presents an opportunity to strengthen the city’s workforce. By focusing on solutions, we can effectively support the ambitious plans for growth and development, while also advancing the skills of our local workforce overall for future projects. The Final Four’s success highlighted San Antonio’s progress in making itself a destination for major national events. The Alamodome, with recent new suites and upgrades, and the newly completed Civic Park put our city on display. How do we prepare to elevate our entertainment capacity further?
Plan strategically
Through our work on the Alamodome, Civic Park and City Tower, we have learned that any downtown project is a significant undertaking. While these new spaces and facilities are great additions, San Antonio will need to continue to successfully welcome events, conventions and tourists as these large projects are executed. The wheels of our tourism and convention markets cannot grind to a halt to allow for these upgrades. It is possible to do this as Skanska recently added 18 suites to the Alamodome and upgraded the upper concourse and concessions, completing the project on time despite coordinating around various events. When the city undertakes even bigger projects, major planning needs to be done by experts, both local and across the country, who regularly work on projects of this magnitude and complexity. All entities involved must be prepared to proactively invest in the infrastructure required and ensure it happens on time while allowing downtown to continue at a high level of functionality.
Obtain resources
It may sound simple, but when we are poised to build these placemaking structures, the leading resource we need is a skilled workforce. Right now, San Antonio and all of Texas is experiencing a shortage of skilled trades workers. A qualified construction workforce is critical to the success of these downtown initiatives and our economy. The business community must help foster the training and opportunity for these trades as projects are debated and designed.
San Antonio’s overall growth hinges on staying ahead of the curve in meeting the needs of a growing city. Downtown’s growth, coupled with more “standard” construction jobs, such as hospital expansions, airport improvements and higher education projects, is putting pressure on the skilled workforce pool. Skanska’s Civic Park project alone required over 1,000 workers over the course of the project, including masons, equipment operators, electricians and many more.
Promoting programs that strengthen the skilled labor pipeline, such as SA WORX, which partners with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is crucial for sourcing talent for in-demand jobs. Employer partnerships facilitate data collection on local skills gaps for some of the most in-demand industries, not just construction, and help develop training and education programs to address those local needs.
Another opportunity employers have is job shadowing, which includes internship and mentorship programs. Developing these programs within your organization can help retain San Antonio’s young talent. Through partnerships with industry associations or company-led initiatives, it is paramount for skilled talent to realize they can have a bright future in San Antonio. We have top-notch schools in the area that offer relevant programs to help fill the construction skill gap, including Alamo Colleges, UTSA, Texas A&M-San Antonio and new regional campuses for Texas State Technical College. We also have programs such as the Construction Careers Academy that prepare students for studies in higher education or a construction-related career. Supporting these schools and their programs is a great first step.
Championing the trades as a strong, viable career path falls on the shoulders of everyone in San Antonio, especially the business community, which is poised to prosper from our city’s continued growth and elevation as a choice destination. Even if a business is not directly involved with the trades, it benefits from a tradesman’s work to conduct business.
Bottom line
Several development projects, including commercial initiatives, drive downtown growth, making San Antonio an attractive destination to live, work and play. Infrastructure investment is essential for current and future growth, as these projects cannot succeed without necessary upgrades and a strong workforce pipeline.
These public investments can contribute to improvements in our quality of life and attract more visitors and businesses, fostering economic growth. Ensuring future generations continue to call San Antonio home requires ongoing strategic planning and sustained growth efforts, as well as ensuring that current residents and businesses are not adversely impacted by the work.
Downtown San Antonio’s rich history, highlighted by landmarks such as the Alamo, River Walk and Market Square, forms the city’s vibrant core. Looking ahead to the next decade, we look forward to taking part in growing the area for locals and visitors, further enhancing downtown San Antonio’s vibrancy and appeal, while strengthening its central role in the city’s identity.
Viva San Antonio!
