Recently, a lot of my conversations with infrastructure project leaders start the same way: their project is stalled or at risk of not finishing on time because they can’t find the right people. As a hiring specialist, this is a challenge I’m increasingly called on to solve. Experienced workers are retiring, and the next generation isn’t arriving fast enough to replace them. This fact has shaped how I approach recruiting for roads, bridges, utilities, and all the essential projects that keep our country running. In this post, I want to share what I’ve learned from years on the ground in infrastructure recruiting: the challenges we face, the strategies that work, and why it’s all worth it when you finally place the right person in the right job.

The Infrastructure Hiring Landscape Today

Hiring in the infrastructure world isn’t for the faint of heart these days. On one hand, the demand is sky-high. A wave of public and private investment has launched so many projects that companies are stretched thin searching for talent. Industry projections underscore this surge: the construction sector will need to attract an estimated 439,000 new workers in 2025 to meet anticipated demand. I’ve watched this play out firsthand with clients juggling multiple projects and not enough people to staff them. On the other hand, the available labor pool isn’t growing fast enough to keep up. A significant portion of the workforce is nearing retirement. About one in five construction workers is 55 or older, by recent estimates, meaning a lot of highly experienced hands are hanging up their hard hats. In fact, over the past decade millions of skilled tradespeople have retired, and comparatively few young workers have entered the field to replace them. This double bind of surging demand and shrinking supply sets the stage for everything we do in infrastructure recruiting. It creates a sense of urgency I feel every time I get that pre-dawn call from a jobsite.

Another reality of today’s market is that infrastructure construction has rebounded to historically high activity levels. There are tens of thousands of projects underway across the country at this very moment—new highways, water treatment upgrades, renewable energy installations, you name it. It’s an exciting time to be in this industry, but it’s also a perfect storm for hiring challenges. When unemployment is low and everyone is busy building, filling critical roles becomes incredibly competitive. I’ve seen contractors in bidding wars over skilled electricians and heavy equipment operators, and project timelines extended simply because open positions went unfilled for too long. All of this means that as recruiters and hiring managers, we have to be more proactive and creative than ever to find the people who will literally build the future. That’s the backdrop of infrastructure recruiting today: huge opportunities, and a talent chase to match.

Why Infrastructure Roles Are Tough to Fill

So why is it so difficult to fill jobs on infrastructure projects? Through daily experience (and more than a few hard lessons), I’ve come to appreciate several unique challenges. First, these roles often demand specialized skills, certifications, and experience that aren’t easily found in the general labor market. We’re not just hiring “construction workers”. We’re looking for bridge inspectors with the right license, linemen who can handle high-voltage cables, project managers who understand federal compliance on highway jobs, and so on. The talent pool for these niche skills is limited. For example, when recruiting for utility construction projects, I know to double-check candidates’ certifications (like OSHA safety training or specific equipment operator licenses) because only a select few will meet the strict requirements. If you’ve ever tried to hire an experienced structural steel welder in a rural region, you know it can feel like searching for a unicorn.

Second, infrastructure jobs can be demanding in ways that turn many candidates away. The work often means long hours outdoors in remote locations, traveling to far-flung project sites, or working in tough conditions that aren’t part of your typical 9-to-5 desk job. I’ve had promising candidates decline offers because the idea of spending months on an isolated dam project or living out of motels along an interstate construction corridor just didn’t appeal to them in the end. We also contend with the perception (especially among younger workers) that construction is an unstable career. That reputation lingers from past recessions and makes recruiting the next generation harder. One seasoned superintendent I know jokes that every time he goes to a high school career fair, the students’ parents drag them away from the construction booth toward the tech companies. It’s only half a joke: we have to work against some ingrained skepticism about this industry.

The numbers back up how challenging this is. A recent analysis by the National League of Cities found that over 30% of infrastructure jobs are classified as “hard to fill”, meaning they stay open longer than jobs in other sectors. In practical terms, that means the median infrastructure job posting takes about 23 days to hire for, versus around 19 days for non-infrastructure roles. That may not sound huge, but those extra days can put a project’s schedule in jeopardy. I’ve felt that crunch personally: not long ago I was recruiting a tunneling specialist for a sewer upgrade project, a critical hire that dragged on for over two months because so few candidates had the rare mix of experience needed. Every week that position sat vacant, the contractor was losing productivity and the city was growing more anxious about delays. These situations drive home a key point: infrastructure roles tend to be harder to fill due to a perfect storm of high specialization, tougher working conditions, and an overall talent shortage. The challenge for those of us hiring is how to navigate this storm effectively.

Field-Tested Strategies to Attract and Hire Top Talent

Dealing with these challenges every day has pushed me to come up with recruiting strategies that actually work in the real world. Posting a job and hoping for the best just doesn’t cut it. We have to go out, find the right people, and give them a reason to choose us. Here are a few approaches that I’ve found make a real difference in recruiting for infrastructure projects:

  • Build a talent pipeline before you need it: In infrastructure recruiting, the worst time to start looking for a candidate is when the job is already open and on the critical path. I’ve learned to always be recruiting, even when my projects are fully staffed. This means keeping in touch with great candidates I’ve met over the years, maintaining relationships with trade schools and apprenticeship programs, and attending industry events or union meetings to meet new prospects. By nurturing a network of heavy civil and utility professionals ahead of time, you have a pool to tap when a sudden need arises. Proactive pipeline building has saved my projects on more than one occasion.
  • Leverage personal referrals and industry networks: Infrastructure construction is a tight-knit world. Often, the best hires come from word-of-mouth. I regularly ask project managers, foremen, and even the crews if they know someone who’d be a good fit for an upcoming role. These referrals are gold because they come pre-vetted by someone whose judgment I trust. Similarly, I tap into professional networks, like the regional chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers or local builders’ associations, where experienced folks tend to know who’s looking for a new opportunity. A quick phone call to a former colleague might lead me to the perfect candidate who wasn’t even actively applying anywhere.
  • Sell the job (and the industry) to candidates: In today’s market, we as hiring managers have to court candidates as much as they court us. This is especially true for roles that might seem less glamorous or involve tough conditions. I make it a point to highlight the mission and impact of the job. Working on infrastructure means building bridges, upgrading water systems, and improving communities, and that sense of purpose is a selling point. I also emphasize the stability and growth potential that infrastructure careers can offer. For example, if I’m hiring an equipment operator for a highway project, I’ll talk about the backlog of work coming down the pipeline and how skilled operators are going to have steady, well-paying work for years. Painting a clear picture of career growth, training opportunities, and the pride that comes with building something tangible helps attract people who might otherwise be hesitant.
  • Move fast and remove barriers in hiring: When you finally find a great candidate, speed is often the deciding factor. I’ve learned not to let bureaucracy or sluggish processes cost me a hire. That means streamlining interviews and approvals. Sometimes I’ll arrange for a site walk and interview with the superintendent on the same day to avoid making a candidate drive back and forth. I also coordinate closely with HR on things like background checks and offer letters to shave days off the timeline. In one case, we managed to bring a critical field engineer on board within 10 days of initial contact by expediting each step; had we taken the usual three or four weeks, he likely would have gone to a competitor. Good candidates in infrastructure usually have multiple offers, so a responsive and efficient hiring process can be your secret weapon.
  • Think outside the usual talent pool: Given the labor shortage, sometimes you have to get creative about where you find people. One strategy I use is looking for candidates with adjacent skills who can be trained for the role. Can a military veteran with logistics experience become a great project coordinator on a rail project? Quite possibly, yes. Or perhaps a technician from another industry (say, an auto mechanic) could be retrained as a diesel generator mechanic for a power plant site. I’ve also had success recruiting via non-traditional channels like community workshops, veteran transition programs, or even by reaching out to folks who took a break from construction and might be open to returning. Another part of thinking outside the box is making the infrastructure field more welcoming to underrepresented groups. We need more women, more young people, more folks who didn’t grow up in construction families. I’ve partnered with community college programs and diversity initiatives to tap into fresh talent. Broadening our reach not only fills roles but ultimately strengthens the industry’s workforce for the long haul.

Each of these strategies comes from real trial and error. I recall one project where we desperately needed a scheduler versed in rail construction. Traditional job ads didn’t yield much, so I leaned on my network and eventually got a tip from a former colleague about an excellent scheduler in between contracts. We moved quickly to bring him on, and he turned out to be a linchpin in keeping that project on track. Stories like that are why I believe so strongly in proactive and creative recruiting tactics. It takes extra effort to network, to pitch your project’s story to candidates, and to cut through red tape, but it pays off when you land that ideal hire who can hit the ground running.

Looking Ahead: Building the Next Generation of Infrastructure Talent

Even as we tackle today’s challenges, I try to keep one eye on the future. For me, part of the job is helping to grow the next wave of infrastructure professionals who will take things forward. The encouraging part is that there’s real momentum behind this now. Companies and government programs are stepping up with new investments in workforce development, whether that’s through more apprenticeships or hands-on training centers focused on infrastructure work. I’ve seen more outreach to schools, more apprenticeship spots, and a growing recognition that we need to show young people that a career building roads, bridges, or power grids can be rewarding. I sometimes volunteer with a trades introduction program at a local community college, and it’s inspiring to see a new cohort of students discovering that working in construction doesn’t just mean holding a shovel. It can mean operating drones for site surveys, managing multi-million dollar projects, or mastering cutting-edge building technology. The stereotype of construction as a dead-end job is slowly but surely being challenged.

That said, there’s plenty more work to do to ensure we have the talent to build all the infrastructure that’s been planned and funded. As someone who lives and breathes this work, I know we can’t take our foot off the gas when it comes to recruiting and retention. We need to continue improving job conditions by providing clear career pathways, competitive pay, and better work-life balance on projects, so that we not only attract new talent but also keep good people in the industry. I’m encouraged by some trends, like contractors embracing technology to make the work more efficient and appealing to tech-savvy workers, or the efforts to improve diversity and inclusion on jobsites to widen the labor pool. All of these will help in the long run.

At the end of the day, I find infrastructure recruiting to be challenging but deeply fulfilling. Yes, my phone rings at odd hours and I’ve spent far too many days wearing a hard hat in an interview instead of a suit. But every time I help hire a talented professional and place them on a project, I know I’m contributing in my own way to building something that lasts. A bridge that stands for 100 years, a new transit line that moves thousands of people, a power grid upgrade that keeps communities powered—none of it happens without the right people doing the work. Whenever I drive past a finished project that I staffed, I feel a swell of pride knowing I helped build that team. That, more than anything, is what keeps me motivated to face the early mornings and the talent shortages. Infrastructure recruiting is about building the builders, and to me, there’s no more rewarding job than that.