Angela Murphy
Associate Director, People Development, Compliance & Operations

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 forecast that in 2031, 41% of the current construction workforce will have retired.  The need for strong hiring and craft training programs is critical to the future of your company, large or small. C3 is how your company can ensure that you are building and offering the highest quality craft training programs to close the skills gap between new and seasoned professionals more quickly.
C3’s newly launched Craft Training Endorsement Program provides companies two pathways to award-winning craft training.  After an easy self-assessment, companies can enter the C3 Craft Training Endorsement Program as either a pre-program company or an endorsement seeking company.  Those electing the pre-program route will be placed in the C3 coaching program and those selecting endorsement will begin the process of applying for a C3 endorsement track.
The C3 coaching program assists you in designing, developing and delivering customized craft training programs that are suited to the short and long-term needs of your business and your craft workers.  Those company leaders who elect the endorsement track will apply for and complete a rigorous C3 audit of their craft training programs. If earned, C3 will provide an endorsement for the appropriate level of training that the company provides. Regardless of which way you choose to enter the program, eventually all companies will work to achieve endorsement at one of the three levels – Recognized, Leader or Champion.
The C3 Craft Training Endorsement Program provides you with a way to differentiate your company with craft training programs as you hunt for quality talent and as you bid on new jobs. You will find, as other C3 companies already have, that having a C3 Endorsed Craft Training Program will help you retain skilled craft workers and employees and give you a hiring edge with millennial workers who are seeking a career path where they can make a difference and not just fill a job where they pull in a paycheck. 
If you are ready to gain a competitive edge in the battle for resources that is the future of construction, then join C3’s Craft Training Endorsement Program.  Take the first step by attending one of our C3 Craft Training Executive Town Halls. You can register today by clicking here. See you there.
 
* https://www.nccer.org/docs/default-source/pdfs/nccer-cornerstone-fall-winter-2017-final.pdf, pg30.

by Chuck Gremillion
Executive Director

​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 in the craft trades to fill the available jobs. Construction Career Collaborative (C3) was established to address this issue.

C3’s primary goal of creating a skilled and sustainable craft workforce can only be accomplished by construction employers successfully competing for talent with other industries, something the industry has struggled to do in the last 30+ years.  C3 is working with companies in the commercial construction industry to attract young people into a career in the craft trades.  These employers must demonstrate to the new applicants in the 18-24 year-old range that they can provide new craft professionals with a career path that enables them to earn a comfortable living and provides them the opportunity to fulfill their “personal dream.” 

How do we interest someone coming out of high school in a career in the craft trades?  First, construction employers must do what other industries do: Treat their craft workers as valued assets - as employees, not as independent subcontractors.  This is a foundational assumption.  

Second, construction employers must provide their employees with safety and on-going craft training that will enable them to work safely and skillfully. This training, along with on-the-job work experience will lead to sustainable craft workers who will build better quality buildings.

Third, the construction industry must change its perception from “dirty, dangerous and dead-end” to a career where they can be “sustainable, successful and safe”.  When we offer our construction applicants the opportunity to grow and thrive in their chosen craft, the construction industry can win in the war for talent. 

If you agree with me, join forces with C3 and let’s solve this problem together!  C3.is.how