Associated General Contractors of Virginia’s Post

America's construction industry needs more workers, and a labor union has a program to encourage high school students to make it their future career. The Laborers' International Union of North America's four-year program allows students to explore a curriculum including real-life, job-related activities and industry projects. Matthew Gonzales, business manager for Laborers' Local 1095, said the collaboration with San Antonio's Sam Houston High School allows students to receive applied academic, work, and life skills providing them with a solid foundation. "Throughout the process, they will obtain instruction in safety certifications that will then prepare them to go into the workforce," Gonzales explained. "This dual accreditation program, they can use those credits to go to college or enter into a registered apprenticeship program." Gonzales noted Sam Houston State University is the sixth campus to adopt the Union's program and the first in #Texas. A recent poll found the construction industry will need to attract hundreds of thousands of additional workers to meet the demand for new residential homes and other infrastructure. He emphasized the jobs students would eventually take offer family-sustaining wages and benefits. According to Gonzales, the union and its training department chose Sam Houston High School for its specialized curriculum because disadvantaged communities need more options. "The potential to make generational change and develop our next wave of construction laborers for industry needs... the potential was so great and enormous we couldn't say no," Gonzales stressed. Gonzales reported 43 freshmen have joined the inaugural class. He added Milwaukee Tool donated more than $10,000 in power tools to make the Texas initiative possible. #unionjobs

This is a byproduct of High Scools neglecting to advise students that this is a viable path. Moreso - creating a negative stigma for those who don’t take the traditional 4 year college route. It’s also a problem that policy makers fail to recognize that jobs these require 3-4 years of college level instruction and hands on learning. You can’t just turn on a spigot and churn out skilled trades people. It’s a career that takes years of learning and experience to be proficient. Michigan has a skilled trade worker shortage. These programs are trying to fix that https://lnkd.in/g_zkcRx5

Colorado Sun: A new Colorado coalition aims to put teachers and businesses on the same page. But what about students?: There’s a mismatch between job openings and seekers, with about 121,000 open jobs and 106,000 unemployed people in Colorado. The new Education to Employment Alliance thinks they might have the solution. The group, made up of business and education-oriented organizations such as the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Succeeds and Colorado Thrives, released a report last month with five recommendations to better match workers with open positions, including adjusting the skills taught in school to better match the needs of employers. The idea being: Companies tell educators what skills are lacking, educators teach those skills to students and everyone goes home happy. Read more here. | timnathchamber.com #Timnath #Colorado #TimnathChamber

The Cedar Rapids Student Built House program was launched in 1972 as a year-long residential trades program for Cedar Rapids Community School District high school juniors and seniors. During the year, students build a single-family home from the ground up, develop technical skills, collaborate with local employers, and explore related careers. Since its inception, the program has built 50 homes. Supporting trade school programs is a key part of Diamondback’s mission. I’ve talked about the challeges that the trades face with drug addiction, high mortality and the rest; but think about the challenges that the trades will help us conquer as a society.  Climate change, housing shortages, changes in the very nature of work – trades education has a role to play in all of this.  We need to promote hands on skills in the next generation of workers, so that workers have meaningful jobs that are less subject to the forces of globalization.  Europe, Australia, the United States all face critical housing shortages, and a reduced workforce that can fill the gap.  The forces of climate change mean that we need to re-evaluate our building processes and focus on developing new skills in the next generation for smarter, more efficient homes. Let’s keep supporting our youth and develop a new generation of healthier, safer, highly skilled workers in the trade. #respectthetrades #tradeschool #tradeseducation #jobsitesafety #constructionsafety

📰 Throwback Thursday 📰 McGinley Advocacy Through the Years As we continue to make strides in today's ever-changing Construction industry, it's crucial to remember the foundation upon which McGinley Support Services was built. Skills shortages and fair pay rates have long been points of debate, and McGinley has never held back in championing workers’ rights and advocating for educational pathways for newcomers. 🔙Today, we're throwing it back to February 1987! An article published in Construction News discussed our forward-thinking projections on wage inflation, affected by the scarcity of skilled workers. We were vocal advocates for creating more apprenticeship opportunities and stood up against the negative perceptions often associated with labour-only providers during that era. 📖Our commitment to informing the industry hasn't waned; we continue to provide valuable insights via our SafetyINRail and INfrastructure INsights publications. With the times, we've adapted our methods. Gone are the quarterly hardcopy publications, replaced by more frequent online whitepapers. These are always available for download on our website. 📧If you wish to receive advance copies of our publications, offering exclusive access one week prior to public release, please contact our Digital Communications and Recruitment Director, Chris Young, at [email protected]. Or alternatively, view the download section on our website to see our publications on public release 👉 https://lnkd.in/daGKVnu6 At McGinley, our mission to support both the workforce and the industry as a whole remains unwavering, as it has for over four decades. #TeamMcGinley #40YearsOfExcellence #ThrowbackThursday

Houston is facing a growing demand for educated and skilled workers. 📈💼 According to a 2023 report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, 63% of Texas jobs will require postsecondary training beyond high school by 2031, with 31% being “middle skill” jobs—careers that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree. With more initiatives aimed at addressing the skills gap, our mission at BridgeYear is more critical than ever. Creating non-four-year degree pathways is essential for our youth to achieve economic stability and independence after high school graduation. Learn more by visiting here: https://lnkd.in/gdyev-4u #SkilledTrades #UnderservedYouth #EconomicMobility #HoustonCareers #BridgeYear #CareerExploration #CareerNavigation

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This right here is the reason and mission behind Ready to WERK. If companies don’t see this move towards skill based training as productive & cost effective, things will go back to the way they were, so programs such as RTW will be vital in proving that apprenticeships & skills-based trainings are a legitimate source for a competant workforce. “The private sector is increasingly adopting a similar hiring strategy. In a recent survey of 2,000 employers conducted by ZipRecruiter, 45 percent said they had removed degree requirements from some jobs over the past year, and 72 percent said that when hiring they place demonstrated skills above academic credentials. That’s a smart approach in this era of tight labor markets. According to research from the national nonprofit Opportunity@Work, more than 70 million U.S. adults are “skilled through alternative routes” but are effectively shut out of higher-paying and upwardly mobile roles simply because they lack a four-year college degree. Considering the full range of a person’s life experiences, work-ready skills and motivation to contribute that aren’t neatly summed up on a résumé can unearth a vast supply of talent in places where employers seldom look.”

“The number of students enrolled in #vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% last year to its highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse began tracking such data in 2018.” It is a great sign that Gen Z’ers are interested in the trades. High enrollment at vocational schools will also keep the talent pool of skilled labor strong to support the next generation of manufacturing workers (8.5% of the US Workforce and 11% of US GDP). #manufacturing #forging

How can Welliver work together with school districts to help educate students about the many opportunities and benefits of a career in construction? Mike Ginalski, Welliver's K12 Communication Liaison, shares what he's learned from his experience leading a school district through four successful referendums. #constructionmanagement #constructionmanager #K12Construction #k12schools #constructioncareers #careersinconstruction #schooldistricts #constructiontrades #ConstructionStaffing #skilledtrades #guidancecounselor