A shortage of building inspectors threatens to upend Oregon’s housing goals

After almost two decades building homes in the Salem area, developer Oleg Foksha is seeing a problem crop up more often. Essential building inspections are lagging, delaying construction.

Inspectors who work for local government and private utilities ensure buildings comply with state codes intended to make sure structures are safe and that people can get out quickly in case of fire. They typically review plans, inspect projects under construction and give developers notes on what needs to be fixed.

But that process is slowed down when turnover means a different inspector who’s unfamiliar with a project comes to a building site every time there’s something new to inspect. In recent years, contractors find it harder to reach inspectors to clarify what needs to be corrected. 

“I completely get that it’s not his fault because he’s got (inspections) just from sun up to sun down,” Foksha said. “That becomes frustrating because for us as the building community, a day wasted is sometimes a week or two behind schedule.”

In Salem and across Oregon, a shortage of building inspectors and code professionals is stretching out construction timelines. There are increasing concerns about the future of a workforce that’s essential to building badly-needed housing.

Gov. Tina Kotek set a statewide goal of building 36,000 new homes annually in 2024, though available data suggests Oregon will fall far short of that target for years to come.

“The governor has a very ambitious mandate for housing statewide,” said Al Rossi, deputy building inspector for the city of Salem. “We’re critical to housing.”

About 1,500 inspectors work statewide, and the state Employment Department estimates Oregon needs about 165 new inspectors each year to keep up with retirements and attrition, said Dan Carlson, an inspector for the city of Wilsonville who leads a training program at  Chemeketa Community College.

That is one of three programs training future inspectors in Oregon, alongside Portland Community College and one run by the state’s Building Codes Division. Together, they produce about 50 graduates a year, far short of the need.

“Developers are waiting to have their home permits reviewed and approved. They can’t proceed until that happens. Time is money and we get that, we want to help,” Carlson said. “When you’re lacking in your workforce, the answer to that becomes very challenging.”

At the city of Salem, the building and codes division has three openings on its plan review team. Rossi said finding candidates is a challenge. A recent opening for a chief plans examiner had only one qualified applicant, while a less senior position drew four, all entry level.

“It’s pretty slim pickings,” Rossi said.

An invisible job

The issue facing the industry is the same as in many other trades like plumbing and electrical. A seasoned, older workforce is retiring, and new trainees aren’t coming in fast enough to meet the booming demand for construction. 

Most of the people working in Salem’s building and code office are relatively new to the work. That includes Rossi, who’s been with the city since 2018, a shorter career than many department leaders.

”Don’t ever miss a meeting. You get promoted,” he joked.

But inspectors face a unique challenge in the trades. Outside of the construction industry, few people know the job exists – or that it’s a path toward earning a good living after a relatively short training period. 

Historically, it’s attracted workers with industry experience who are looking for less physically demanding jobs or retraining after an injury.

“It’s a hidden occupation,” said Stephen Simms, training and outreach manager for the state Building Codes Division. “We’re trying to get out there to high school career fairs and high schools that have career and technical education programs and let them know that it’s an option for them.”

The Chemeketa program Carlson oversees takes two years and includes state and national exams for certification.

He has capacity for 35 students per year, but said he’s typically drawn only 15 to 25 for the past decade. This year, not enough students applied.

Now, he said the curriculum is being revised to allow short-term certificates starting next fall. Carlson said the goal is to get people working earlier so they can take a job during the day and attend class at night.

Applications for the Chemeketa program open in February.

Matt O’Donnell, 25, started working for the city of Salem at 19 while he was completing the Chemeketa program.

As a plans examiner, he now makes about $112,000 per year. His father was in the industry, and he said he loves the work for the variety of buildings and topics. Some days, he’s looking at plans for a 25,000-square-foot warehouse, while others, he’s reviewing routine home improvements.

“It challenges you to grow every single day,” he said. “You never truly just have it down to where you know all the things.”

Being a good inspector requires more than memorizing building codes. Carlson said it takes creativity, flexibility and a good hand with people. Much of the work is understanding the intent behind the rigid language of a building code and finding ways to work with developers to make projects happen while following that intent.

“It really boils down to people skills, problem solving,” he said.

More training needed

Some in the industry said changes to training and certification could help more people enter the field.

“It’s not really flexible and accessible to everybody,” said Rebai Tamerhoulet, who served as the city of Salem building official until 2023 and now works as building codes director for the Oregon Home Builders Association.

Tuition for the two-year Chemeketa program costs about $13,400, according to the program website, with about $6,000 estimated in books and supplies.

Tamerhoulet said making more scholarships available for programs, having full-time instructors in building codes at community colleges and allowing an apprenticeship like other trades where prospective examiners can be employed while learning to inspect residential buildings.

“We have to have some really new ideas (on) how we train inspectors and plan examiners and also I think we need some investment in these community college programs so they can produce more inspectors and plan examiners,” he said.

Simms, the state training director, said the building codes division last fall set up a reciprocal program in an effort to address workforce shortages. Local governments can agree to share inspectors, allowing flexibility when one city may have a glut of projects pending approval while another is less busy.

Salem hasn’t signed on because it’s currently meeting workload demand, Rossi said, but he praised the program.

Simms said the division also advocates for inspectors and code professionals to be named in state programs or legislation addressing other construction industry workforce issues.

“We’re always open to listening to other ideas about how we might be able to improve our processes,” he said.

Rossi and Carlson said they try to get the word out at high school fair and career programs. Rossi said he wants more people to know how rewarding the job is. His eyes lit up as he described walking under the state Capitol as it was lifted on columns for a new foundation designed to withstand an earthquake. It’s a project he gets to visit regularly as construction progresses.

“This is the first time in my life that I look forward to coming to work every day,” Rossi said.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.