One of the first things president and owner Susan Cain mentions about Camel Custom Canvas, in Knoxville, Tenn., is the people who have helped sustain it for more than 107 years. Employees have decades of service, repeat customers continue to return, and industry peers are an important source of support and shared knowledge. And her grandfather and father, founder and former owner, respectively, remain her inspiration.

Employers in the trade industries are searching for ways to attract top talent, particularly those job seekers at the beginning of their careers. While finding the right candidates to fill marine fabricator roles can be challenging, it is possible.

Once valued primarily for their speed of deployment and flexibility, today’s clearspan structures increasingly are expected to perform like permanent buildings. Whether serving as manufacturing space, climate-controlled warehouses, aviation hangars, corporate hospitality venues or emergency-response facilities, owners want structures that maintain comfortable interior temperatures, reduce energy consumption and provide greater security over deployments that can last months or even years.

As cities expand and infrastructure demands increase, the construction industry faces ongoing pressure to deliver efficient, economical and environmentally responsible projects.

Manufacturers are always competing for skilled operators, production leaders and capable managers. One highly trained workforce to enlist is transitioning military veterans.

Responsive textiles are materials that transform shape, color or size based on environmental cues, using either sensors and microcontrollers or the natural properties of the materials themselves to communicate information or alter their surroundings. In the field of architecture, these textiles can be used to create both temporary and permanent shelters that have the potential to open and close to let more air through or change their shape to provide more coverage from sunlight or provide more privacy for example. These textiles and their responses are changing how we communicate, socialize, and utilize space.