Transferable Skills Offer more than a Straight Line to a Job

I recently attended a half-day conference in Houston with school administrators, construction company executives and design professionals hosted by the Association for Learning Environments, also known as A4LE.  It featured a panel moderated by a general contractor that included executives of two specialty contractors and a staffing agency.  These executives were asked to identify the […]

The Construction Industry is in desperate need of a sustainable workforce.  But, what does sustainable really mean?  A sustainable workforce is one that balances supply of skilled craft workers to the demand produced for their craft. Based on the average age of Houston’s current craft workforce, the demand for skilled labor will continue to rise

​During my four-plus years as Executive Director of Construction Career Collaborative (C3), I have been surprised by the many myths and misconceptions that I have encountered. Given that C3’s mission benefits all the parties that comprise the commercial construction industry, building owners, construction companies and the craft workforce, in addition to the ultimate users of

C3 is working for the commercial construction industry to establish a safe, skilled and sustainable craft workforce for projects across the Houston region.  In order to achieve that goal, C3 works with construction companies like yours to help you develop and deliver training programs linked to a career path that enables your craft workers to

​The goal of all craft training is to build new knowledge, skills and abilities in our craft workforce. The best way to ensure this happens is to build programs that include both passive and active forms of learning activities. Passive learning occurs during lectures, videos, readings, and demonstrations. The learner is engaged with the content

One of the challenges of establishing the credibility of the C3 formula for success has been the difficulty in collecting data that illustrates the value of craft training.  When we began to collect the data that makes the case for craft training, we found an outstanding example from Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing, one of the

The industry has been told that the current skilled labor shortages will get worse as the economy improves, a generation of aging skilled workers retires and a new generation enters the industry. Key to that recruitment of a new skilled workforce is a well-defined and executed training program. To assist in training and development of

One of the questions that I am often asked when I speak to folks in the commercial construction industry about our work at Construction Career Collaborative is “When is C3 going to begin recruiting kids coming out of high school?”  It is frequently followed by the observation that not everyone is meant for college and

In the current construction market there is a growing craft worker shortage.  Firms not planning for their workforce future will find themselves without the resources to do the work when the future becomes the present. NCCER* states that transforming a newly hired craft worker into a seasoned professional takes a minimum of eleven years.  They

​As anyone in commercial construction will attest, the industry has a labor shortage and a perception problem.  The combination of those issues has led to an unsustainable craft workforce. Demand for skilled craft workers is greater than people looking for jobs. Baby Boomers are retiring, and the millennial generation has not been attracted to careers