President-elect Donald Trump would like to push $1 trillion in infrastructure spending through Congress, as a way to boost productivity and create jobs. But will there be enough skilled workers to take on those projects?

Aaron LaRocca, chief of staff of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, looks at a trunnion post that needs replacement under the draw span on the Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington, June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

A brief by Trump policy advisers Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro cites infrastructure jobs as a possible cure for higher rates of unemployment among Americans who lack a formal education; indeed, a recent Brookings study showed only 12 percent of workers employed in infrastructure occupations hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, but wages in those jobs tended to be higher than other jobs available to people without a degree.

But what happens when these new jobs are created at the same time that unemployment is low by historical standards? Currently, there are 5.5 million open jobs around the country. Behind that number is the fact that many industries are facing a skilled labor shortage. One census estimate showed 60 percent of construction workers hurt by the housing downturn switched industries or left the labor force completely, contributing to a shortfall in that sector. The same is true for many traditional trade-related industries, which shed jobs or fell out of favor after the crisis; and as the Baby Boomer generation retires, the gap is getting larger.

America may be in need of an infrastructure reboot, and with a Republican-controlled Congress, Trump may be able to enact legislation which creates an avenue for that to happen - but getting the workers to complete those projects could be a roadblock.