BANGOR – A construction worker shortage is predicted for the Bangor area, due not to the numerous large-scale building projects planned or under way but to the aging work force, industry representatives say.

Hundreds of construction workers are or will be employed at the new permanent Hollywood Slots at Bangor racetrack casino project; the coming Lowe’s home improvement stores in Bangor and Brewer; the new, expanded Wal-Mart and The Home Depot stores in Bangor; and Cianbro Corp.’s commercial module manufacturing facility at the former Eastern Fine Paper Mill in Brewer.

There are plenty of workers to fill those jobs now, experts say, but the field needs young people to make up for the many workers approaching retirement.

“I think that currently there are far enough workers in Maine to handle those jobs,” said John Hanson, executive director of the Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 14 trade unions and about 6,000 workers. “However, the average age of construction workers is getting up there. It’s a very good industry for young people to think about getting into.”

The average Maine construction worker is 48 years old, according to John Butts, executive director of Associated Constructors of Maine, an organization working to reduce that number.

“We’ve been trying to work with the technical colleges,” Butts said. “We’re finding popularity in some of the management fields, but young people seem to think basic construction work is dirty. … They perceive it as low-paying. But the average wage is in the $15 to $16 [per hour] area, and can go well into the $20s.”

The Maine Department of Labor’s most recent data show there were 40,526 people employed by the construction industry in 2004. The average wage in 2005 was $16 per hour, and the department predicts there will be 951 new job openings per year in the future, which includes 162 new jobs and 789 openings created by workers who will retire or otherwise leave the field.

“People that started off at entry-level construction jobs have worked their way up and now own their own businesses. There really is an upward ladder,” said Adam Fisher, spokesman for the Department of Labor.

Hanson, Butts and Fisher all emphasized the importance of the community college programs that train students in most aspects of residential and commercial construction and technology.

The seven Maine community colleges had 1,700 students enrolled in construction-related trade programs last fall, according to Helen Pelletier, spokeswoman for the Maine Community College System. That number is up 350 students from 2002, Pelletier said, but has not grown in recent years.

“One reason we’ve seen a leveling off is because there were some real capacity issues in those programs,” she said, referring to the limited classroom size and funding for programs that require extensive and expensive equipment.

Graduates of trade programs at Maine’s community colleges are not likely to be out of work. About 95 percent of all Maine community college graduates are either employed or continue their education, Pelletier said.

Timothy Folster, vice president of operations at Sargent Corp. in Stillwater, said Tuesday that he has recruited about 100 workers from around the state to build the new Home Depot in Bangor and Lowe’s in Brewer.

“Bangor has as much going on this year as we’ve had in the last three years. Bangor seems to have more work than in the rest of the state,” Folster said.

Ted Ryder Jr., owner of Ryder’s Building and Remodeling in Carmel, said he has not lost any of his staff to the large projects and is one of the smaller businesses hired to work on the Hollywood Slots at Bangor project in the next year.

“Most of my employees are family,” Ryder said.

Ernest Kilbride, vice president of project development at Cianbro, the general contractor for the new Hollywood Slots at Bangor complex, said he has an ample work force but the average employee is 47 1/2 years old. Cianbro recruits heavily from vocational schools and community colleges, Kilbride said.

Cianbro is still determining how many new recruits it will need for its module manufacturing facility in Brewer, Kilbride said Wednesday.

“We’re still going to need 500 people made up of the new and current Cianbro work force.”