CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
How the Digital Skills Shortage in the AEC Sector Is Stalling America’s Infrastructure
And How CAD and BIM Managers Can Alleviate Some of the Pressure
5 December 2025
A silent calamity is underway in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) universe and the Department of Transportation (DOT) industry. Its cost is measured not just in delays, but in billions of dollars of lost opportunity. These industries are facing a labor crisis where the true devastation lies in the projects that sadly never even start.
In Arizona, a massive new semiconductor chip factory, being built by an international manufacturer, was originally scheduled to be operational by the end of 2026. However, that date has been postponed until 2028.
The primary culprit? A skilled-labor shortage in the local construction market.
This single delay demonstrates the crisis on multiple levels.
- Financial Impact: A delay on a $40 billion facility is a catastrophic financial and supply-chain hit, delaying the production of critical technology components. Factor in the extended overhead costs (site security, utility fees, permits and general conditions), higher material costs (due to inflation) and premium wages or overtime to attract any available skilled workers to make up for lost time, and it starts getting ugly.
The shortage isn’t just about boots on the ground (or jobsite). It’s also about fingers on keyboards — specifically, those running CAD and BIM software.
- Scale of the Problem: If an industrial giant spending tens of billions of dollars — which typically commands the best resources — cannot secure the necessary electricians, pipefitters, welders and other skilled trades to stay on schedule, it proves the scarcity is universal and crippling. But the problem extends beyond a blue-collar deficit.
- White-Collar Bottleneck: State DOTs and engineering firms face a similar crisis for white-collar staff. In Connecticut, for example, DOT officials reported being 200 engineers short of their target staffing level in 2023, following a wave of retirements. This lack of in-house capacity has forced the state to prioritize projects and slow down others, raising the serious fear that they won't have the internal personnel to use all the new federal infrastructure dollars available to them.
Instead of struggling with project delays and cost overruns they can’t manage, many firms have adopted a “survival tactic” — quietly pulling back, opting not to pursue new bids or expansion because they simply cannot staff the work. This strategic inaction creates an “invisible loss,” translating into billions in missed revenue, lost client portfolios and a decline in market influence as competitors seize the opportunity. The labor shortage isn’t just slowing down construction. It’s forcing the industry to hit the pause button on future growth.
“Construction projects of all types are being delayed because there aren’t enough qualified workers available for firms to hire,” says Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
A survey conducted by AGC and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) found that 45% of firms attribute project delays to labor shortages. Additionally, 92% of construction firms report difficulty in finding qualified workers.
If you work in transportation or construction, you’ve probably heard the lament on repeat: “We just don’t have enough people.” DOTs and other government agencies within the AEC realm, as well as AEC firms themselves, are all scrambling to fill roles, but the shortage isn’t just about boots on the ground (or jobsite). It’s also about fingers on keyboards — specifically, those running CAD and BIM software.
Here’s the thing: America is pouring billions into infrastructure, but without folks who can navigate complex design software, the best-laid plans (literally) get stuck in digital gridlock.
With a current US shortfall of hundreds of thousands of people equipped with digital and specialized infrastructure skills, it’s a problem that no one can ignore.
The Numbers Needed
If you have kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews contemplating a future career, consider nudging them in the general direction of AEC. Here’s why:
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects an average of approximately 186,500 annual job openings for occupations relating to architecture and engineering over the next decade. These openings are due to both employment growth and the need to replace workers who exit the industries, such as due to retirement.
It’s like death by a thousand monotonous clicks, when they could be working on the important (and profitable) design work instead.
- Talking about specific titles, for example, there are projected to be about 23,600 annual openings for Civil Engineers and 7,800 annual openings for Architects.
Clearly, we need a plethora of savvy CAD and BIM designers to ensure the continued growth of the AEC industry, but what can we do, right now, in the middle of this crisis? It simply makes sense to support both the new arrivals and the guys with decades of experience to ease the burden on everyone’s shoulders. We know it won’t erase the shortfall, but it could help ease everyone through the tough times ahead.
CAD and BIM: Powerful, But Not Exactly Plug-and-Play for Newcomers
Ask anyone who’s ever opened MicroStation®, AutoCAD® or Revit® for the first time — it’s not exactly love at first sight.
These platforms are brilliant, yes, but they also come with enough buttons, menus and mysterious error messages to sometimes make even seasoned pros want to lie down in a dark, quiet room.
So, how can CAD and BIM managers help newbies to the industry feel a sense of familiarity and achievement while they’re still gaining experience, or — perhaps even more importantly — reduce the pressure on veteran (but overburdened) CAD and BIM users?
Some of the fundamental problems are that the experienced experts who do know their way around CAD and BIM are in increasingly short supply. Training newcomers takes months, sometimes years. And the kicker? Even experienced folks still spend way too much time on tedious, repetitive manual fixes and edits on their platform of choice. It’s like death by a thousand monotonous clicks, when they could be working on the important (and profitable) design work instead.
Construction’s Catch-22
So, what’s the status quo? Older, highly skilled staff are retiring as younger talent trickles in (but without deep CAD or BIM chops). Projects are stacking up thanks to federal funding. Net result? AEC firms aren’t just short-staffed — they’re stuck in a digital Catch-22.
Train your people, and you lose productivity while they’re learning. Skip training, and you risk errors that cost time and money down the line. Either way, you’re caught in a cycle of “not enough people, not enough hours and way too much software complexity.”
Why Training Alone Isn’t the Answer
Please, don’t get us wrong — training is important. Upskilling is crucial and nobody’s suggesting anyone skip it. But let’s be honest. How do you train your way out of a personnel crisis this big — fast enough?
CAD and BIM platforms aren’t getting any simpler. If anything, they keep adding features, which means the learning curve just keeps getting steeper.
But do we really want our brightest architects, engineers and designers, already spread thin on the ground, spending their days working on things like the formatting of spreadsheet imports or updating sheet numbers? That’s simply not financially smart — paying someone professional rates to do grunt work. And it’s avoidable.
Do we really want our brightest architects, engineers and designers, already spread thin on the ground, spending their days working on things like the formatting of spreadsheet imports or updating sheet numbers?
Time-Saving Tools: The Silent Sidekick
This is where automation tools step in like a trusty sidekick. Think of them as the friend who helps you move and miraculously never complains about carrying the fridge up three flights of stairs.
Automation takes on the boring, repetitive stuff — things like fixing references, cleaning up file formats, making sure standards are followed — so your already-overloaded team doesn’t have to spend time on it. That means:
- Better use of resources. You get what you pay for.
- Fewer mistakes. Automation does it accurately the first time.
- More brainpower left for actual engineering. Your experts can focus on design and problem-solving instead of wrestling with software quirks.
An “Aha” Moment
Picture this: a state DOT juggling hundreds of projects, each with mountains of CAD files. Staff are spending hours formatting spreadsheets, fixing references and chasing down errors, leaving morale somewhere south of “meh.”
DOTs and AEC firms aren’t just short-staffed — they’re stuck in a digital Catch-22.
Then they roll out some much-needed automation tools. Suddenly, junior staff can handle imports confidently without worrying about results that look drunkenly wonky. Senior CAD managers stop playing whack-a-mole with file errors and can focus on quality and mentoring. Projects get out the door faster, and nobody’s pulling their hair out over menial manual BS.
How Automation Tools Help Ease the Stress of the Staff Shortage
Zoom out, and this is all part of the national workforce conversation. As mentioned earlier, construction and infrastructure staff shortages are real problems and the shortage of skilled CAD and BIM users is a major contributing factor to projects being delayed or going over budget.
Leaders everywhere are saying the same thing: We need more people, but we also need tools to help the people we do have.
Automation isn’t just a convenience — it’s a survival strategy. It helps flatten the digital learning curve, gives stretched teams a fighting chance and helps attract younger workers who’d rather use modern tech than spend their careers debugging problems they’ve not yet begun to understand.
Where Axiom Fits In
This is exactly where Axiom’s tools come into play. They’re designed to smooth out the rough edges of MicroStation, Revit and AutoCAD, automating the tasks that nobody really wants to do. The result?
- CAD and BIM novices may be able to contribute faster without being long-term platform experts.
- Veterans can spend less time fixing and more time designing.
- Projects move quickly, cleanly and with fewer errors.
With tools that ease the learning curve, AEC firms can keep projects moving, even in the midst of a workforce crunch.
It’s about empowering the workforce you already have — because let’s face it, in the short term, none of us can simply hire our way out of this problem.
Wrapping Up
The digital skills gap in the AEC sector isn’t going away anytime soon. But instead of waiting for the perfect candidate or praying that your staff can master every tiny detail of CAD or BIM overnight, there’s another option: Have automation tools take on the heavy lifting.
With tools that help ease the learning curve, AEC firms can keep projects moving, even in the midst of a workforce crunch. And maybe — just maybe — everyone will spend a little less time cursing at their computer screens each day.
Axiom offers purpose-built timesaving tools for MicroStation, Revit and AutoCAD. If you have questions or are interested in a free trial, call 727-442-7774 to talk to a CAD or BIM consultant, or chat with us online at AxiomInt.com.
