Construction

Building Futures offers low-income and under-employed residents of Providence opportunities to enter the construction trades through apprenticeships. Building Futures enrolled and placed its first cohort of participants in June 2007; the first year’s goal is to place 30 apprentices.

The Jumpstart Pre-Apprenticeship Program provides low-income community residents sponsored by specific employers with an 87-hour, pre-apprenticeship course for electricians, plumbers, and carpenters.

The initial goal of the partnership was to facilitate the creation of a construction industry partnership that would bring together regional stakeholders, educators, and economic/workforce development partners to develop new models and practices for training and education, certification, and new points of entry into the construction industry.

Helmets to Hardhats is a nationally recognized effort to connect transitioning servicemen and women to good paying careers in the construction industry. Recognizing the critical shortage of skilled workers in construction and the job needs of veterans returning to civilian life, Helmets to Hardhats’ goal is to connect military members with career training and employment in the building and construction industry. Counseling is provided to these servicemen and women to match their skills with that of an appropriate trade.

The primary objective is to develop a partnership of employers, unions, trade associations, and training providers in the building and construction trades to study the industry’s workforce needs, economic climate, and ways to coordinate industry members’ efforts to improve their "competitive edge." Specifically, the partnership will address the recruitment and retention of employees and the education/training needs of both new hires and existing employees.

This partnership’s primary mission is to act as a collaboration and communication medium for strategic planning and resource development for the construction industry in Northwest Pennsylvania. The partnership provides a forum for trade associations, union halls, construction councils, and contractors to identify their common and specific needs, such as key occupational skills. The partnership has identified a critical training need for the development of a pool of incumbent workers who meet the Leadership, Energy, and Environmental Design certification.

Since 2003, the Central Pennsylvania WIB has been working with regional economic development and educational partners to become more knowledgeable about the factors that could promote or restrict the competitive position of the factory built housing and lumber industries. This partnership is comprised of the Central Pennsylvania WIB, the Industrial Modernization Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the Modular Building Systems Association, and the Regional Skills Network.

This partnership is bringing together local building trades, unions, employers, education and training providers, and workforce intermediaries to collectively support the construction industry. One goal is to ensure economic growth in the region by meeting the recruitment and advanced skills training needs of the industry, while connecting workers to long-term, family-sustaining career paths.

This partnership is comprised of the school district, community college, education association, and community based organizations working with 16 building and construction trades joint apprenticeship programs. The goals are to work with contractors and unions to recruit and prepare out-of-school youth for apprenticeship programs, while expanding the pre-apprentice programs for youth and to develop proactive strategies with contractors and unions to recruit and prepare urban youth into apprenticeships.

The Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Central Workforce Investment Board are working with five companies to develop an assessment model for two occupations within construction management: project manager and construction superintendent/foreman. They have identified the competencies deemed necessary for ensuring successful advancement of incumbent workers into management positions and are focusing on the deployment of industry-based benchmark training to aid in the professional development of construction managers.

The South Central WIB and the Capital Area Labor Council are advancing the needs of the construction and building trades industry by facilitating companies to aggregate training and educational needs. The partnership will inform and collaborate with youth councils, business-education partnerships, parents, and career counselors to build awareness of career opportunities in the construction industry. The partnership hopes to develop new career ladders within and across companies, thus enabling entry-level workers to improve skills to advance into higher skill, higher wage jobs.