A Sustainable Workforce Starts With You
In a passionate op-ed written for North Carolina’s News & Observer, the owner of Whitman Masonry calls for a real crack-down against the worker misclassification epidemic.
Pat Kiley presented a forecast on the Houston economy with special focus on the Construction, Real Estate, Oil & Gas, and Finance sectors at the annual Adams and Reese Crawfish Boil.
When you see a person working in a skilled trade, do you ever wonder how that person came to choose that particular career or how he or she got started? I recently had the opportunity to interview Josh Reynolds, a young electrician for ISC, an industrial electrical, instrumentation, and controls contractor offering engineering, construction and maintenance services to the chemical processing, petrochemical, refining, power, and pulp and paper industries. [node:read-more:link]
In a previous entry, I wrote about the grand opening event for ABC Greater Houston’s new office, training, and meeting facility in northwest Houston. The gathering of ABC members enjoyed the chance to tour the renovated building and to meet and network with each other.
After the group had been given a chance to sample the bountiful spread of complimentary food and drinks, Russell Hamley, President of Associated Builders and Contractors Greater Houston Chapter, greeted the crowd with a few welcoming remarks in which he recognized the elected officials who were there and the donors to the New ABC Office Building Fund, who had made the purchase and renovation of the facility possible. He offered special thanks to Burton Construction and to PDG Architects who had worked so hard to bring the building into its now beautiful and functional reality.
Darlene East, President and COO of Holes, Inc. and 2015 Chairperson for ABC Greater Houston, next recognized the Planning and Design Committee, the Construction Committee, and the Fundraising Committee – each comprised of ABC Members who had given so much of their time and effort toward bringing the new facility into being. Russell Hamley concluded the presentation before returning the guests to their socializing. He said: [node:read-more:link]
ABC Houston has opened their new facility to meet the expanding needs of the commercial and industrial construction industry in the area. The newly renovated building houses state of the art meeting rooms, training rooms, offices, and reception and break areas. Read interviews from two ABC members who were there. [node:read-more:link]
I recently visited Pasadena ISD’s Dr. Kirk Lewis Career and Technical High School (CTHS) on a day when a group of high school juniors were receiving hands-on training in drywall installation by professionals from Marek Houston. I was invited by Saied Alavi, Director of Operations at Marek, to watch as Marek volunteers Terry Holcombe, Buddy Britt, Aurelio Flores, and Rodrick Horn walked the students through each step of installing drywall to several framed “rooms” which had been previously constructed by students in the large workshop for the Construction Technologies program at the school. I watched students measure the framing, cut the drywall to the required spaces including cutouts for windows and electrical sockets, align the cut drywall, and nail the pieces in place. Walls and ceilings took shape before our eyes. [node:read-more:link]
Last week a group of construction professionals from MAREK once again volunteered their time to instruct high school students in drywall installation at their new state-of-the-art Pasadena Independent School District facility. Houston area construction firms such as MAREK have partnered with Pasadena ISD in the past to enhance the programs offered to students looking for careers in construction. [node:read-more:link]
Watch a video interview of a 35+ year veteran of commercial waterproofing at Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing – who has seen many interesting layers of the industry over the years. [node:read-more:link]
Earlier this month I had a chance to speak with Miguel Lopez, Roofing and Sheet Metal Superintendent at Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing. I wanted to learn about his craft and how he learned about the trade. Before he came to Chamberlin, Miguel worked installing track for a railroad company, but did not see a future for himself in that line of work. There were no opportunities for advancement, so when the work at the railroad company began to slow down, Miguel looked for something different. Miguel’s brother-in-law worked at Chamberlin and told Miguel about the opportunities there. [node:read-more:link]
A few weeks ago, Saied Alavi, Director of Operations at Marek Brothers Houston, and I visited an active construction site on the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) campus. The new Jennie Sealy Hospital is scheduled to be completed later this year and open for patients early next year. We went there to talk with Gloria Palau, one of Marek’s workforce trainees, to learn about her experience with Marek since she entered her new career about a year ago. [node:read-more:link]
