Can We Save America’s Construction Industry? With George Carrillo – RFP 57

The cranes may still dot our skylines, but the ground beneath America’s construction industry is starting to shake—and not in a good way.

In a powerful episode of the Real Finds Podcast, host and commercial real estate agent Gordon Lamphere sits down with George Carrillo, CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council, to uncover one of the most urgent issues facing our industry today: the national construction labor shortage. With over half a million unfilled jobs and rising, the question is no longer if the industry will feel the pain, but how much, and for how long.

If you’re involved in commercial real estate, property management, or developing industrial space or office space, this conversation should sound the alarms.

A Crisis That Threatens the Entire Built Environment

Carrillo opens with a striking thesis: “Construction powers our economy. Without workers, the real estate industry doesn’t just slow down—it stops.” The math backs him up. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the U.S. needs over 500,000 more construction workers in 2025 just to keep pace with demand.

That’s not just a statistic—it’s a bottleneck that affects every link in the real estate value chain. Industrial space can’t go vertical without tradespeople. Office space renovations stall without electricians, drywallers, and HVAC techs. And even well-run property management, operations falter when service providers are spread too thin.

For any commercial real estate agent, the implications are direct. Deals depend on timelines, tenant improvements, and building readiness. Labor shortages delay those timelines—and with them, occupancy, cash flow, and investor confidence.

Why the Labor Gap Exists—and Keeps Growing

So how did we get here?

Carrillo points to three main drivers:

1. Demographic decline: A large portion of the current workforce is aging out, and younger generations are simply not replacing them fast enough.

2. Cultural bias: For decades, schools have funneled students toward four-year degrees, leaving the trades behind. The result is a widespread perception that construction is a “last resort” rather than a viable career.

3. Policy paralysis: Immigration, a traditional backstop for labor-intensive industries like construction, has been stuck in partisan gridlock. “Without comprehensive immigration reform,” Carrillo warns, “we’re just kicking the can down a crumbling road.”

What’s at Stake for the Commercial Real Estate Sector

The ripple effects are already reaching developers, investors, and owners. In many markets, construction timelines have doubled, especially for industrial space projects with specialized requirements. The delay in delivery of new office space or logistics facilities isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s reshaping site selection, leasing strategy, and even pricing models.

From a property management standpoint, the lack of skilled labor puts pressure on maintenance timelines and tenant satisfaction. HVAC issues take longer to fix. Build-outs drag on. And deferred maintenance risks compounding over time.

For every commercial real estate agent, this adds a layer of uncertainty that makes transactions harder to close. Carrillo likens it to trying to sell cars in a world where mechanics are disappearing.

Real Solutions—Not Just Talking Points

Despite the urgency, Carrillo is far from defeatist. He lays out a clear, actionable blueprint for turning the tide. His proposals span both short-term fixes and long-term structural reforms:

1. Early Trades Education

Carrillo advocates reintroducing shop classes, trade fairs, and apprenticeship awareness at the middle school level. “If we can convince kids to be astronauts at 10,” he quips, “we can convince them to be electricians too.”

2. Reframing the Narrative

The industry needs a cultural reboot. Carrillo supports national storytelling campaigns to highlight success stories in the trades. He’s even working on a children’s picture book that features skilled labor heroes.

3. Immigration Reform

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with labor market dynamics, but Carrillo is emphatic: smart, targeted immigration policy is critical. Construction needs a replenished workforce, and that starts with unlocking more legal pathways for skilled migrants.

4. Pathways for the Underserved

Carrillo is building training programs that target young people from underserved communities, offering not just a job, but a career ladder. “We’re not looking for charity,” he says. “We’re looking to unlock talent that’s already there.”

What Brokers, Developers, and Managers Should Do Next

So what can commercial real estate agents, developers, and property management professionals do in response?

• Acknowledge labor risk in your timelines and pro formas. Construction delays are no longer outliers—they’re baked into the market.

• Educate your clients. Whether you’re leasing industrial space or repositioning office space, set expectations early and tie them to real-world labor availability.

• Support training initiatives. Consider aligning with local trade schools, apprenticeship programs, or nonprofits addressing workforce development.

• Speak up. Advocate for pro-growth immigration reform and trades education. This isn’t a political issue—it’s a market survival issue.

The Future of Real Estate Is Still Being Built—Literally

Carrillo’s final message is a powerful one: “You can’t invest in the built world if there’s no one left to build it.”

In a time when capital is cautious and timelines are tight, the construction labor force is the most underappreciated variable in real estate strategy. Whether you’re a commercial real estate agents closing deals, a property management firm maintaining assets, or a developer breaking ground on new industrial space, the availability of labor shapes your outcome more than any macroeconomic trend.

The labor crisis isn’t an abstraction—it’s the scaffolding on which the future rests. And if we want to build anything that lasts, we’d better make sure we’ve got the people to build it.

🎧 Want More?
Listen to the full conversation with George Carrillo on The Real Finds Podcast. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.