Sustainable Value

John Killin, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Pacific Northwest chapter and executive director of the Independent Electrical Contractors of Oregon, published an interesting article in Oregon’s Daily Journal of Commerce on the future of the skilled workforce.

He issues a call to action that now is the time to begin the hiring and training of the skilled workforce for the future.  He writes:

“Years are required to prepare people for the leadership roles they will fill in the future. In licensed trades, years are needed to simply move someone from entry level to license-in-hand, full journey-level status.

“Contractors that are beginning to add workers should be sure apprenticeship is at the top of their hiring priorities.  Read more »

Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken was right on target about our skilled workforce crisis in a speech he recently gave at the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Waco, Texas.  Pauken stated:

“The time has come to return to an educational model which recognizes the value of career education and encourages the young people of Texas to have such learning opportunities at the high school and post-secondary school levels.  It really is just a matter of common sense.  We have accepted for too long this misguided notion that everyone should go to a four-year university.  That flies in the face of reality and human nature.  We have different talents and different abilities.  Let’s design a school finance and accountability system which recognizes that and re-establishes the importance of skills training to provide young Texans with terrific career opportunities.  Read more »

Last month I attended “Built To Last”, SER’s 47th Anniversary Gala at the historic Rice Lofts in downtown Houston.  Video excerpts from the evening are posted below.  The event served to honor some of the leaders who have supported SER – Jobs for Progress, to provide allies of SER the chance to meet each other, and to raise money for SER’s programs.  SER, which stands for “Service, Employment, and Redevelopment”, offers training and employment services to people in low-income, at-risk communities.  The evening included a gathering hour where business and community leaders networked and mingled over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, opportunities to bid on items in a silent auction, an elegant dinner served in the Crystal Ballroom, an inspiring program about the organization, and dancing to live music.   Read more »

Last year I reported that Go Build has its roots in Alabama.  On January 17, 2012, Governor Nathan Deal announced the launch of the Go Build Georgia initiative.  The goal of the initiative is to address the shortage of workers for skilled trades.  Like Go Build Alabama, the initiative will focus on public outreach to educate the citizens of Georgia on the availability of career opportunities that exist today in construction.   In the following video, Governor Deal introduces the initiative.  He states:

“Everyone knows that this is a difficult job market, but not as many know that Georgia is projected to create approximately 16,500 openings in skilled trades in the next year alone.  Go Build is about providing Georgians with the training that they need to fill these positions.”   Read more »

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to listen in on approximately 4½  hours of testimony on workforce training programs in Texas.  The hearing was held by the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce who have been charged to study whether such workforce training programs currently meet business and worker needs in Texas.  On the whole, the discussion was positive because there was a definite recognition by all presenters, as well as by the members of the committee, of the need to focus more on “career ready” as opposed to only “college ready” students.  It seems there is a wide variety of career opportunities available to high school graduates with the proper skills training.   Read more »

A few years ago we began conducting an annual goals workshop at my company.  In many ways this workshop is really about communication.  Our office has approximately 80 folks.  Having a meeting with 80 people can be a bit challenging.  But we persevere because we have our own goal: learning how to ask.

“What do you think we should focus on in 2012?  What are the things that are keeping you from doing your job?  What can we do to help you achieve your goals?”

The goal setting meeting affords us an opportunity to listen and learn.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  Our leadership team is comprised of folks who are used to getting things done.  No time to talk about why we “have always done it this way”.  But our goal setting meetings have changed that.

I should clarify here that this process did not come quickly.  We still have a few folks that are uncomfortable being asked, and a few cynics who are hard to convince.  But again, we persevere because we know that Read more »

Anders Lewendal is a homebuilder from Bozeman, Montana who also holds a degree in economics.  Last month, on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, journalist David Muir featured him and his endeavor to create more jobs in America by convincing contractors to build with American-made products.  Lewendal asserts that if every builder used 5% more American materials, over 220,000 jobs would be created in our country.

The videos below feature a home Lewendal is building using 100 percent American-made materials – the nails and screws, the tape, the paint, the insulation, the duct sealant, the door hinges, the windows – everything.  To accomplish this, he used a list of American manufacturers who produce the building materials needed.  Compiled by The All American Home, this list is growing, and includes companies from over 33 states.  Lewendal encourages other contractors to join him in this effort to build with more American-made products.   Read more »

The National AGC Safety and Health Conference] was held in San Antonio in January and I had the opportunity to present the Construction Career Collaborative (C³) industry initiative to over 160 safety professionals.  The initiative was well received by our safety professionals as a means to verifiably provide safety training to each craft worker and supervisor.   Read more »

Last week Indiana became the 23rd state to become a “right to work” state.  Congratulations to Governor Daniels and the people of Indiana.  Every business should have the right to go to market the way they so choose.  However, I could not help but sympathize a little when I read of some the opponents’ concern of a “downward spiral” as far as it related to the workforce.  After all, we only have to look at the current Texas market in regards to the quality of the commercial workforce: aging, less and less skilled, and more and more piecework.

But it really does not have to be that way.  With the advent of the Construction Career Collaborative (C³), there is now not only a vehicle to Read more »

Last month Cornerstone, the quarterly magazine of American General Contractors Houston (AGC), published an article about the Construction Career Collaborative (C³), the initiative advanced by socially responsible owners, contractors and specialty contractors in the Houston area to improve the commercial construction industry by embracing principles that will lead to a sustainable craft workforce.  Titled Building a Viable Career Path: C³ Brings Owners and Contractors Together in Favor of Training, Fair Wages, and High-Quality Craft Workers, the article offers a comprehensive view of C³ from its task force origin two years ago through its development and promotion to its current position preparing to launch with a few “beta” projects.   Read more »