What if Owners Evaluate Training Like They Evaluate Safety?

The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT), a major owners’ group, is developing a workforce development assessment that contractors will have to fill out as part of their prequalification process. Attendees at AGC’s 92^nd Annual Convention, held recently in Las Vegas, received a preview of the assessment and a detailed analysis of how it will work. Sponsored by the AGC Training, Education & Development Forum and the National Center for Construction Education & Research, the 90-minute session also presented the genesis of the national Choose Construction Initiative, an effort endorsed by AGC to enhance the industry’s image, and recruit, train, place, and retain trainees, is set to launch. Speakers during the session were Don Whyte, President, National Center for Construction Education & Research; Steve Greene, Vice President, NCCER; and Gerald Sprentall FMS Program Manager, TI Contracts, Intel Corporation, Inc., and chairman of CURT’s Workforce Development Committee. The workforce development assessment – a joint CURT/NCCER project - is the result of a 2004 CURT report “Confronting the Skilled Construction Workforce Shortage” that stated: “Individual contractors must recognize the necessity and benefits of training their employees and be willing to invest in it. … Owners should require contractors to invest in training and maintain the skills of their workforce as a condition of employment.”The assessment, several years in the making, is currently being piloted by several dozen general contractors nationwide. The goal is to assess each contractor’s commitment to workforce develop, skills training and upgrades with an eye toward measuring the return on investment in terms of turnover, absenteeism, safety, rework, and productivity. The assessment is neutral on labor posture and uses a third party to collect and audit information. Each contractor’s final assessment will be a simple grade – A+, A, A-, B+, B, etc. The speakers also outlined the new Choose Construction Initiative (CCI, an initiative to implement a grassroots recruitment/workforce development effort that enhances the image of the industry to attract and train new workers. The CCI will allow state and local partners to leverage nationally developed themes, collateral, resources and programs to promote and market the construction industry as a desirable and rewarding career of choice. Recruitment targets include: entry-level workers, displaced and under-employed workers, under-skilled and uncertified workers. The see the full presentation, click here for a PDF version. Finally, Training, Education & Development Forum Chairman Mike Kenig introduced the audience to the Forum and showed them click here for a PDF version.