Workforce Development

As a commercial painting and drywall company, we are consistently striving to learn new things and  to develop a sustainable process for investing in our future workforce.  Having been in business since 1984, our company has evolved, grown and seen many changes and substantial improvements in the construction industry including the relentless drive towards safety and technology.  Amidst all the new designs, processes, technology, media, equipment and product evolution; the backbone for making everything work seamlessly is a […]

According to Meredith Watassek, Director of Career and Technical Education at Fort Bend Independent School District, “A sustainable workforce starts by educating the middle and high school student and their parents and counselors to the viable career options in construction and other career and technical trades.” Construction Career Collaborative and our Accredited Employers realize that

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