Tag: skilled labor shortage: Page 3

Business

Slumping productivity, political football drive down Q4 Nonresidential Construction Index

For the first time in five months, two of which brought its highest marks ever, FMI’s Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) fell 2.9 points in the fourth quarter to 57.4. The good news is that despite the drop from last quarter, any mark above 50 on the index indicates growth and this quarter is still 1.9 […]

December 4, 2013

Business

Survey says more than half of construction companies affected by skilled worker shortage, details how they’re coping

At this point, it would be quicker to list the number of cities that haven’t reported construction projects being impacted by the skilled worker shortage than the ones that have. In the past year alone we’ve reports from Houston, Minnesota, Louisiana, Phoenix, Wisconsin, Michigan and California, just to name, well, several. It’s everywhere. Back in […]

November 20, 2013

Workforce

Report: Washington D.C. excludes successful construction-trades academy from “priority” career initiative funding

Despite a 90-percent graduation rate and a more-than 60-percent college-going rate, a Washington D.C. construction-trades academy was excluded from funding in a new D.C.-area Career and Technical Education program, according to a report from Greater Greater Education. The Academy of Construction and Design is based within D.C.’s Cardozo Senior High School. It was established in […]

November 13, 2013

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3: Be Fair

Treating everyone fairly and treating everyone equally isn’t the same thing. If you treat everyone exactly the same, they’ll think you don’t care about them. Have an individualized approach to your employees, and clearly explain decisions you make that affect them. They’ll respect you for it.   < STEP 2           […]

November 12, 2013

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2: Be Open and Honest

Although it’s your company, you should want your employees to be interested and invested in the well-being of the firm. They’re never going to be able to do that unless you tell them what’s going on. Instituting transparency is a direct path to gaining the loyalty and trust of your people. If they feel they […]

November 12, 2013

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1: Have the “Right” People

Attracting and retaining people isn’t enough. You have to hire and keep people who are a good fit for the type of company you want to have. No matter how skilled the employees, sometimes their demeanor or attitude simply derails what you’re trying to accomplish. < INTRO                 […]

November 12, 2013

Business

3 culture-changing steps contractors can take to combat the skilled worker shortage

There’s been no shortage of attention lately to the skilled worker shortage. Although industry advocates like Mike Rowe have been beating the drum for a while, now everyone is catching on—analyzing what happened and trying to find ways to attract new workers to the trade. Some contractors have even created their own courses to train […]

November 12, 2013

Workforce

Indiana Gov. Pence wants to “make career and vocational education a priority in every high school”

The state of Indiana spends $100 million each year on on vocational education in its high schools. However, only a few thousand of the students that take advantage of this training leave high school with approved credentials or a certificate showing they have received job training, reports the Logansport, Indiana newspaper Pharos-Tribune. And, of the the 100,000 students […]

October 31, 2013

Business

In campaign to end the skilled worker shortage, Mike Rowe unafraid of reaching into both sides of the aisle

As part of his Profoundly Disconnected campaign to make students and, really, the country in general, aware of the opportunities and good money available to those who choose a career in the trades, Mike Rowe has been making a lot of appearances lately. A little while back he appeared on Bill Maher’s HBO show “Real […]

October 30, 2013

Workforce

In response to shortage of construction supervisors, Houston contractors form their own training courses

With the oil and gas industries booming in Texas pulling away much of the state’s experienced laborers, construction companies there are having a hard time finding workers in general. But now the problem has spread to an inability to find the guys who oversee all the work. According to a report from the Houston Chronicle, […]

October 23, 2013

Workforce

WorkHands, the social network for skilled trades workers, launches iPhone app

A few weeks ago, we told you about a great new social network called WorkHands. Styled after LinkedIn, WorkHands wants to give employers a direct line to the 20 million skilled trades workers in the U.S. Today, WorkHands has a launched a free iPhone app giving users the ability to build and manage their work portfolios […]

October 17, 2013

Business

Cleveland construction on the rebound thanks to university, health care spending

For the first time in many years, contractors in the Cleveland metro area and the Northeast Ohio region are optimistic, according to a report from Crain’s Business. Two common reasons construction company representatives shared with the publication for the rebound were increased construction spending by universities and hospitals. And though these companies are optimistic that […]

October 10, 2013