From Labor Crunch to Tech Catalyst

Last week we only scratched the surface on how AI is affecting the AEC Community. As we seek for answers, we find ourselves facing more questions.

Within the AEC Community we value and should applaud our labor force. Without them, who will bring our building dreams from the drawing boards to reality. Where are the true craftsmen? How can we embrace technology while maintaining craftsmanship as the labor force shrinks? Are we losing more talented labor to automation? How can labor and automation work together to strengthen the AEC Community?

The labor shortage is accelerating. The adoption of automation, robotics, and up-skilling across the AEC sector is reshaping the workforce, but in this writer's opinion it will not replace it outright.​

In 2025, contractors across North America have faced a persistent worker shortfall, driven by an aging workforce and too few new entrants into the trades. This structural gap is pushing owners, GCs, and subs to explore automation not as a futuristic add-on, but as a practical way to keep projects moving, control costs, and improve safety.​ Rather than eliminating people, most deployments aim to offload the dirtiest, most repetitive, and most hazardous tasks allowing crews to focus on supervision, layout, coordination, craftmanship and higher-value work. This shift is quietly changing what it means to work “on site,” with more human/technology collaboration and less brute-force labor.​

What’s Actually Being Automated Today

The fastest automation gains are in task types that are repetitive, high-risk, or easy to standardize. In 2025, several areas stand out:​

• Bricklaying and concrete placement: Robotic bricklayers and 3D concrete printers are used to build walls and structural elements with greater speed and consistency than manual crews.​

• Earthwork and site preparation: Autonomous or semi-autonomous excavators, dozers, and loaders use GPS, AI, and LiDAR to handle digging, grading, and hauling with less direct operator input.​

• Drywall finishing and painting: Robotic systems apply compound, sand, and paint with repeatable quality, cutting down on fatigue and rework.​

• Rebar tying and welding: Specialized robots and automated stations handle rebar placement and tying, as well as some repetitive welding operations in high-risk zones.​

• Surveying and inspection: Drones and vision systems automate site surveys, progress documentation, and safety inspections, feeding more accurate data into project controls.​

• Material handling and prefabrication: Robots move, lift, assemble, and inspect components in shops and yards, supporting the broader shift to industrialized and prefab construction.​

• Administrative and planning tasks: AI tools now assist with scheduling, quantity takeoff, clash and change detection, progress tracking, and risk spotting directly from models and site data.​

These capabilities directly help contractors work through labor shortages, reduce injury exposure, and allocate skilled workers to more complex roles.​

Will AI And Robots Replace the Workforce?

Despite headlines, a full “replacement” of the construction workforce is not on the near horizon. Most construction automation today is task-specific: a drilling robot, a layout robot, a rebar-tying robot, not a general-purpose machine that can run an entire job.​

Industry analysis suggests the construction robots market will expand rapidly over the next decade, particularly for focused applications like earthmoving, rebar, and layout, while humanoid or highly flexible robots remain in early pilots. The more realistic outcome is a reconfigured labor market where some traditional roles shrink, many evolve, and new positions emerge around robotics supervision, data, safety, and systems integration, keeping the true artists and allowing them to focus on the "special work" while allowing robotics to frocus on the mundane and higher risk, repetetive dirty work.

The New Currency: Up-skilling And Re-skilling

As tools grow more capable, the baseline skill set for the AEC workforce is shifting.

Up-skilling now typically includes:​

• Digital literacy and data skills: Comfort with BIM platforms, tablets, field apps, and dashboards is becoming a minimum requirement, not a “nice to have.”​

• Working with automation: Field teams are expected to set up, monitor, and troubleshoot robots, drones, and automated equipment as part of their normal workflow.​

Re-skilling efforts increasingly rely on short, stackable learning formats and targeted programs:

• Micro-credentials and certifications tied to specific tools or workflows (robot operation, BIM coordination, reality capture).​

• Personalized learning paths delivered through online and blended training platforms.​

• Cross-disciplinary learning that blends trade expertise with mechatronics, sensors, and software.​

The long-term payoff is a safer, more productive, and more technologically attractive industry that can draw in younger talent, training many in the lost arts of construction and retaining mid-career professionals by offering clearer advancement paths.​

Two Waves - On-site Robotics

Contractors should think about robot adoption in two distinct waves.​

• Wave 1: Specialized robots (2025–2030). Task-specific systems for bricklaying, rebar tying, layout, concrete placement, surveying, and material transport are already commercially viable and rolling out on larger or more innovative projects. Adoption is expected to grow steadily over the next 2–5 years as case studies mature, ROI solidifies, and price points continue to drop.​

• Wave 2: Humanoid and highly flexible robots (early–mid 2030s). Humanoid platforms are currently in pilots and innovation labs, with many experts pointing to the 2030s as the period when costs fall and capabilities improve enough for broader deployment in complex, unstructured environments like job sites. Widespread, routine use on active projects is more likely closer to the mid-2030s, contingent on technical progress, safety frameworks, and contractor readiness.​

Forward-looking firms are already investing in data infrastructure, standardized workflows, and workforce development so they can plug these technologies into their operations rather than bolt them on.​

As we continue to explore how AI will affect the AEC Community and recognize its growing presence in our lives, a set of strategic questions keep emerging and the list continues to grow. Owners, contractors, unions, and educators will need to answer these questions together. We touch on a few of these questions below:

1. Which up-skilling models best prepare workers for robotic roles, vendor-led training, community college programs, union training centers, or hybrid approaches?​

2. How can the industry map a clear career ladder from technician and operator roles into robotics engineering, integration, and management?​

3. How will wages, job availability, and work conditions change in sectors and trades most exposed to automation, especially as productivity rises and safety outcomes improve?​

4. How will collective bargaining agreements and union training programs adapt to ensure that gains from automation translate into shared value, not just cost cutting?​

The AEC community is at a pivotal moment: AI, automation, and robotics will not merely eliminate labor; they will redefine what “skilled work” looks like on every project. Staying ahead means engaging with these technologies now, investing in people as much as platforms, and opening a candid dialogue about how to share the risks and rewards of this transformation.​ Are you ready?