In response, officials and stakeholders have pushed several initiatives to help address talent shortages and alleviate cost pressures. 

Hara says that a lot of work has gone into ensuring people explore careers in the industry, such as a massive push of STEM programs starting in grade school in the past decade and a focused recruitment of women and people of color.

However, “recent college graduates are not going to have any experience when they enter the workforce,” Hara says. “I think there is a bit of a slow movement afoot to ensure some of that knowledge is passed down. But, quite frankly, the best way to learn how to do something is to do it.”

Just like as municipalities and state officials looked to public-private partnerships (P3s) to realize large infrastructure projects, Hara says outsourcing advisory and project management services will be vital in completing these projects on time and within budget during the learning curve.

“Thinking long-term is going to be immensely beneficial to these infrastructure projects,” Hara says. “These projects have an opportunity to have long-lasting ripple effects in terms of creating a framework that sets up other options with starting new businesses and engaging with new groups of stakeholders and employees.