West Virginia’s construction industry is preparing for what its leading contractors’ association describes as a possible four- to five-year building surge, driven by major energy, technology, manufacturing and public-infrastructure projects announced across the state.
The state Department of Commerce highlighted the outlook Thursday in its daily briefing, pointing to billions of dollars in planned investment and a central constraint: whether contractors can recruit and train enough people to build the projects.
Jason Pizatella, chief executive of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, told MetroNews that the industry may be entering another “golden age” comparable to the Roads to Prosperity period from 2018 through 2022. His forecast covers building construction over the next four or five years, not a guarantee that every announced project will proceed on schedule.
Large projects create a pipeline, not completed jobs
The scale behind that forecast is substantial. The West Virginia Division of Economic Development reported this month that approximately $96 billion in private-sector investment and more than 19,000 projected jobs had been announced since October 2025.
Much of the total comes from two certified digital-infrastructure proposals: a projected $69.2 billion first phase from NScale and a planned $12 billion Starwood Digital Ventures project in Mason County. The state estimates those projects could require thousands of construction workers, while other developments include steel, energy, life-sciences and advanced-manufacturing investments.
Those figures are projections rather than current payroll counts. Construction depends on financing, permits, utility infrastructure, market conditions and developers reaching final investment decisions. Permanent employment can also be much smaller than the temporary workforce needed during a large build.
Workforce is the operational test
Pizatella said large projects support equipment suppliers, insurers, banks and professional services in addition to workers on construction sites. He also said some out-of-state workers have relocated to West Virginia for current projects, creating an opportunity to retain population if the work pipeline lasts.
The industry has already identified recruitment and retention as a persistent problem. In a March interview, Pizatella described construction as busy statewide while emphasizing training, work-zone safety and the importance of predictable federal infrastructure funding.
Contractors are responding with credential training and employer support for specialized skills. The practical question for state leaders is whether vocational programs, apprenticeships and employers can expand fast enough without weakening safety or project quality.
A separate workforce investment illustrates the response. State economic-development officials said a new $23 million, 65,000-square-foot aviation training facility at North Central West Virginia Airport could expand Pierpont Community and Technical College’s aviation-program capacity from 130 to 230 students. Although aviation is only one sector, the project shows how training capacity must grow alongside capital investment.
For now, the evidence supports a large pipeline and an industry preparing for growth—not a completed boom. The clearest indicators will be projects breaking ground, construction employment rising and announced investments converting into operating facilities.
