For years, the construction industry has talked about its workforce problem. Contractors need skilled workers. Companies need future leaders. The industry needs to get in front of younger generations before they choose a different career path. At a handful of colleges and universities across the country, that message may be getting through.
Enrollment in Concrete Industry Management (CIM) programs has reached a record high, according to the program's 2024-2025 annual report. CIM leadership reported student enrollment has rebounded at each of its five program universities and, overall, has never been higher. The numbers help put all of this into perspective.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, 472 students were enrolled across the four universities then offering the CIM degree. The 2023-2024 CIM Annual Report reported more than 412 students enrolled across the program.
Allyson Sherrier, ForConstructionPros.com, created using AI
Based on fall 2024 enrollment figures reported by each of the five current CIM universities, combined enrollment reached approximately 545 students. That includes 194 students at the founding Middle Tennessee State University, 148 at Texas State University, 87 at New Jersey Institute of Technology, 66 at California State University, Chico, and 50 at South Dakota State University.
It’s not necessarily a straight line of growth. CIM, like colleges and construction programs across the country, faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. A degree built around hands-on learning, laboratory work and direct industry involvement does not easily translate to a remote classroom.
It's the rebound that caught my attention.
The CIM National Steering Committee says the programs still are not producing enough graduates to meet concrete industry demand. Graduates remain highly sought after and often choose from multiple job offers. That may also help explain what‘s drawing students to the major.
At Chico State, student focus groups identified job opportunities, high starting salaries and hands-on learning among the program's key appeals. Across the CIM network, students are also exposed to paid internships, plant tours, industry events, certifications and direct networking with employers. In other words, students can see where the degree is taking them.
There may be a lesson in that for the rest of construction.
The industry spends plenty of time talking about the labor shortage, but younger workers and college students need more than a warning about who will fill the jobs of the future. They need a clear path into those jobs. CIM programs are backed heavily by concrete producers, contractors, suppliers, associations and other industry partners. Those groups are helping fund scholarships, participate in recruiting and put students directly in front of potential employers.
The result is a college program closely tied to the industry it serves.
Of course, CIM leadership isn’t claiming they’re solving the labor challenge. In fact, the program is considering whether one or two additional universities may be needed in certain strategic locations to help satisfy demand for talent. Still, record enrollment is worth paying attention to.
This industry at large has spent years asking how it can attract the next generation. Concrete may be offering part of the answer: Show students the opportunities, give them hands-on experience and make the path from the classroom to a career impossible to miss.
