Rising tariffs and material costs—up 41% since 2020—combined with a 546,000-worker shortfall, are straining U.S. construction timelines. As schedule certainty becomes a top concern, Concord® Construction Academy offers fast-track AWP training to equip teams with the skills needed to deliver projects on time and on budget.
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- New tariffs announced by the Trump administration are already sending shockwaves through the U.S. construction industry, pushing prices for steel, copper, aluminum—and total construction inputs—41 percent higher than February 2020.(1) Making matters worse, workforce capacity is shrinking: 91 percent of contractors struggle to fill open positions, and more than 546,000 additional skilled workers are needed just to meet current demand. (2)
With fixed-price contracts, volatile lead times, and lean labor pools, owners and developers say schedule certainty—not just price—has become the biggest risk factor. "When costs swing overnight and labor is scarce, the only winning strategy is faster, controlled and smarter execution," said Olfa Hamdi, Co-founder and CEO of Concord Construction Academy. "Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is the delivery system that keeps work moving when everything else feels stuck."
Tariffs Compress Timelines and Strain Budgets
Even projects that source materials domestically feel the ripple effects, as suppliers raise prices in response to broader market volatility. Analysts at Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) report non-residential material costs climbing at a 9 percent annualized rate in 2025, while lead-time uncertainty is forcing many owners to accelerate groundbreaking or risk cancellations.
"Trade policy has turned schedule reliability into a strategic necessity," Hamdi noted. "Teams that can't plan and execute flawlessly will lose bids or absorb cost overruns."
AWP: A Proven Framework for Speed and Predictability
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) aligns engineering, procurement, and construction activities through well-defined work packages that eliminate information gaps and reduce rework. When implemented correctly, AWP consistently boosts productivity and protects margins:
- Up to 25 % labor-productivity improvement and 10 % lower total installed cost, according to the Construction Industry Institute (CII). (3)
- A 2023 case study showed 80 % of AWP-based projects finished on or ahead of schedule, with 3 %–10 % cost savings. (4)
- A 2024 peer-reviewed study found the absence of role-specific AWP training is the top barrier to wider adoption. (5)
"AWP works everywhere it's applied, but only when people understand their roles and use a common standardized toolkit," Hamdi explained.
Concord Academy's Fast-Track Certification Model
To meet the market's need for rapid capability building, Concord Construction Academy delivers fully online, role-based training that compresses learning curves from months to days:
- Role-specific learning paths for project managers, engineers, planners, procurement leads, and field supervisors. Ensures every function speaks a common AWP language from day one.
- Self-paced digital modules with quizzes and downloadable templates. Enables learners to apply lessons immediately to live projects.
- Case-study labs featuring energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing megaprojects. Shows exactly how AWP shrinks schedules and reduces costs in real-world scenarios.
- Live expert Q&As and cohort-based sessions. Helps enterprise teams align quickly and resolve project-specific challenges.
- Fast-Track AWP series for urgent starts or recovering delayed jobs. Allows teams to regain momentum without pausing fieldwork.
"Clients tell us our program eliminates weeks of ramp-up," Hamdi said. "The result is fewer RFIs, reduced rework, and clear accountability across disciplines."
Closing the Talent Gap While Protecting Margins
With construction productivity rising only 10 percent between 2000 and 2022—compared with 50 percent for the broader economy—the industry can no longer afford incremental improvements. (6) Concord Academy's customers report:
- Productivity gains of up to 35 percent versus baseline.
- Double-digit reductions in field rework and change orders.
- Consistently positive cash-flow profiles on guaranteed-maximum-price contracts.
"Hiring alone won't fix today's challenges," Hamdi emphasized. "Upskilling the workforce you already have so that they can deliver predictably is the fastest, most cost-effective lever."
A Call to Act Before Costs Rise Again
With tariff policies still evolving and materials markets in flux, early adopters of AWP certification are positioning themselves to win projects others may postpone or abandon.
"Predictable execution is now a survival skill," Hamdi concluded. "AWP gives project teams the confidence to break ground, even in an unpredictable market—and Concord Academy gets them there faster than any other training model."
About Olfa Hamdi
Olfa Hamdi is an internationally recognized expert in capital project management, construction excellence, large scale institutional reform and dispute resolution. She holds advanced degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, Ecole Centrale de Lille and Texas Law School, and is an engineer, entrepreneur and auditor. Hamdi is the founder of the Advanced Work Packaging Institute and the co-founder and CEO of Concord Project Technologies Inc., which develops innovative project management solutions for global capital projects. She is credited as a co-inventor of the Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) methodology, which has become a global industry standard for improving project predictability, safety, and efficiency.
Concord Academy, led by Olfa Hamdi, provides online, role-specific training and certification in Advanced Work Packaging and Workface Planning. The academy's programs equip professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to implement AWP effectively, driving productivity and cost savings for organizations worldwide. Concord Academy's training is widely adopted across the energy, infrastructure, and industrial sectors, helping companies overcome labor shortages and project execution challenges. Visit her at https://academy.tconglobal.com/
References
- Obando, Sebastian. "Sweeping New Tariffs Put Future Construction Projects at Risk." Construction Dive, 3 Apr. 2025, constructiondive.com/news/trump-tariffs-construction-risk-liberation-day/744334/.
- "News Releases | ABC: Construction Industry Must Attract 439,000 Workers in 2025." Abc.org, Jan 24, 2025, abc.org/News-Media/News-Releases/abc-construction-industry-must-attract-439000-workers-in-2025.
- "Introduction to CII's Advances Work Packaging - An Industry Best Practice" Long International 2025 long-intl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Long-Intl-Intro-to-CII-Advanced-Work-Packaging-An-Industry-Best-Practice.pdf
- Copeland, Bradley, and Bradley Copeland. "Digital Advanced Work Packaging – a Case Study in Construction-Led Delivery." The APPEA Journal, vol. 63, no. 2, 11 May 2023, pp. S169–S172, publish.csiro.au/AJ/AJ22046, doi.org/10.1071/AJ22046.
- Sun, Haibo, et al. "Axial Compression Behavior of Large-Diameter, Concrete-Filled, Thin-Walled Galvanized Helical Corrugated Steel Tubes Column Embedded with Rebar." Buildings, vol. 14, no. 1, 21 Dec. 2023, pp. 24–24, mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/1/24
- Mischke, Jan, et al. "Delivering on Construction Productivity Is No Longer Optional." McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 9 Aug. 2024, mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/delivering-on-construction-productivity-is-no-longer-optional.
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SOURCE Concord Construction Academy
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