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Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director 4 ways to grow a construction business in 2023 Everyone wants to see business growth and it generally becomes a focus for organizations as we wind down one year and gear up for a new one. As you are planning for 2023, we want to offer you four practical ways to grow your business and brand in construction. 1. Grow your sales pipeline 2. Keep existing customers coming back 3. Form strategic partnerships 4. Diversify your offerings Grow your sales pipeline For companies just starting on their business journey, the sales pipeline is the priority. No sales means no business. But how important is this for a successful company just wanting to grow? It is still a priority. If you rely on the existing customer base alone, you will not continue to see growth. New customer relationships must be fostered regardless of how successful your company is currently. When thinking about how customers decide to buy with you consider who they are and what they want from you. Next consider, what they see when they first interact with you because first impressions are important, and what motivates them to buy with you. Doing this research will help you to understand the sales funnel that leads to successfully closing the deal. Tips for finding new pipelines Getting your foot in the door requires that someone is out pounding the pavement. This could be someone out passing out marketing materials or hosting a booth at a tradeshow or it could be a business development strategy that places your company at the same events as your target company. Whatever way you choose to seek new contacts and customers, keeping track of what you learn, who you talk to, and action items are key to follow-up and eventual successful conversion to being a happy customer. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems offer a lot of helpful ways to track this interaction and make more strategic decisions. Keep customers coming back Nothing is better than repeat business. It doesn’t take as much work to find or cultivate an existing customer as it does to find new customers. But it does take creating a brand that is known for its excellence and delivery of high-quality products. It is also critical to realize that customers have a relational bond with those from whom they procure services. We all know that we are on some bid lists and not others. Keeping your company in the mix is also about maintaining relationships as well as product delivery. Having that CRM will help you realize who you might need to go see because they haven’t sought you out on bid day. Form Strategic Partnerships A strategic partnership can be many things. It could be a way to align your company with another to accomplish a larger project, like a joint venture or acquisition. It could also be becoming an industry expert that strategically aligns with community or educational programs to assist in bringing new talent or projects to the industry. It might even include aligning with a non-profit or community initiative to fund or receive funding for programs that give your brand a quality stamp for corporate social responsibility. Whatever the strategic goal for your business it may be more easily accomplished in partnership. Current strategic partner opportunities Across the nation, construction science and management programs rely on strategic partnerships with companies to provide internships and professors to train the next generation. Additionally, with the rise of career and technical education programs, public and private schools are seeking similar partnerships with builders. Often the builders who are in partnership with an educational organization may end up with contracts for service or installation in existing buildings and new capital campaigns. Maybe you don’t want to teach or have time for an internship, but you have other ideas about boosting your company’s brand through social responsibility. Try a strategic partnership with a local food bank, Habitat for Humanity, or another charity that shows your commitment to creating a better tomorrow. Socially responsible employers have better engaged employees which leads to longer retention and better productivity. Diversify your offerings Don’t rely on what has always worked without also exploring what might work as well. When seeking to diversify never give up what you are already great at doing, simply add to it with things you can do equally well. Diversification could be adding new services to existing product lines, creating a loyal customer program, expanding to a new product line or service, or moving into a new construction vertical or geography. But in our current environment, it could also be diversifying the people that work with you and for you. An inclusive and diverse workforce will often create new synergies and thought patterns that challenge the status quo and force us to move into the future. However, you diversity do it with intention and strategy and most definitely accountability. Nothing feels less successful than starting the same something new each year because it didn’t get the attention and accountability it needed to thrive the previous year. Growth is achievable in 2023. If you are seeking to expand your current capabilities take a look at the C3 website to see if we are offering programs or continuing education that might help. Looking for a strategic partnership, we have a lot to offer in the way of committees to showcase your business and expertise while you help us grow. Want to find a new customer pipeline come visit us at events and fundraisers throughout the year or take us with you to your events and introduce us to your peers. Let’s grow better together.
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Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director C3 Advocate, In my dream world where we can track and measure everything relevant to the success of our workforce, there would be a lengthy list of additional metrics to capture. But in reality, gathering just the raw data of how many laborers or entry-level workers were needed over the next 12 months, and whom we believed was the best resource to attract and prepare them for placement with C3 Accredited Employers would be an enormous leap forward for C3’s ability to impact our talent pipeline. But it isn't enough to just attract we have to retain all those who come to us and help them to build careers in the industry. Attracting people to join the industry is just the first step of a two-step equation. Converting them to career employees who possess skills that create longevity for them in the industry is step two. At the basic level C3 tracks which organizations are equipped to upskill, reskill, and continuously improve their employees through our Craft Training Endorsement. However, we are not currently able to track retention of the workforce over the long term. As we all know, construction is cyclical and requires companies to size up and down based on the ebb and flow of work. Sometimes moving workers from one company to the next, doing similar or even nearly identical work for a season. Sometimes they come back and other times they don’t. It is the fast-paced “slip seating” of people from a seat at one company to another that illustrates how important having all commercial contractors engaged in the development and retention of employees through training and career pathways becomes. If employees grow their skills at more than one company in their career it is imperative that all companies are providing continuous improvement training. I remember fondly a conversation that I had with Charlie Mogab before he retired from SpawGlass about how it was okay if someone else took his trained employees because at least they were safe, knew their trade, and would make a positive contribution at the next contractor. It is a great philosophy to have, and we want our workforce to raise the bar for the industry with their skills. It does complicate the way we look at retention, however. When they stay in one company, we can easily see how long they have been in the industry and how far they have come. But what about when they move from company to company? Queue the lights and red carpet, C3 has a solution. We call it the C3 training database and while it does not currently help us to track who we are keeping and who is falling out of the ranks of the commercial construction industry, it can help us capture this data. As a matter of fact, we are working on fine-tuning what our database can track and making sure it is a viable resource for us to keep the positive story of C3 moving forward. We are looking at a variety of options for how we increase the items we track and know about each craft professional on our jobs and allow them to build their own training and work history in our systems. But we can’t do that without y’all as well. So join us on our design task force. If you have a passion for software development let me know. But I digress, metrics will always be something we are examining at C3 and using to tell our story. We want you to be part of the group that moves us toward a more measurable impact on our mission. Are you tracking something you think we would want to know about – let us know. Are you interested in mapping out the metrics that matter for C3 – join our metrics community of practice. Want to just know more – book a call with me to chat. Together we can tell the story of how “C3 is doing good” in the industry and we can have the data to make it more than just a gut feeling. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director C3 Advocate, While C3 continues to gain ground and we can see our contractor count growing along with our owner base and project total, we cannot effectively map metrics to program and are left to believe “C3 is doing good” and achieving its mission. But the thing that keeps me up at night is the question – how can I demonstrate our progress more directly? What makes me think we can track impact and improvement on the talent pipeline? Because we aren’t the only ones solving this equation and there is help out there. We are at the beginning of a long journey to re-orient the contracting community to the best talent management practices and make construction competitive with other industries. Our foundation is in the Craft Training Endorsement. To achieve even the lowest level of certification from C3 a company must be tracking training. The key word in all that we are going to discuss in the next two installments is tracking. We don’t want any company to stop tracking training, but we also need to track two key metrics for staffing – turnover and retention. Let me quickly clarify two words that many of us believe are the same but, are quite different: attrition and turnover. Attrition refers to a job that is vacated and not filled again. For example, if a company hires a project manager and that position becomes open due to layoff, retirement, or discharge, and the company no longer needs the same number of project managers and does not refill the position. Turnover is the churn in our system of people leaving for other positions and us replacing them each time. There are organizations that can reactively tell us about unemployment and the changes in the labor market. The Department of Labor or workforce board(s) can look back over the last month’s numbers or even the last few decades and tell us that the shortage is there, or it might be less for a month or more for a year. What they can’t tell us is if Houston still has a problem in commercial construction. To really understand the impact, we are making we need to look at some key performance indicators for Talent Management at the company level and then at the collaboratively level. At your company level, you should be looking to see if you have enough workforce to manage your current job demand as well as grow your business to take on new projects, scopes of work, or any other growth path you are seeking. One question you need to ask yourself consistently is, “is my workforce capacity or quality a limiting factor in my bidding or winning of bids for work?” This number tells us if the current workforce is sufficient to do what we need to generate strategic business results for the company. Next, we need those turnover rates and maybe a root cause analysis to tell us why we have the levels of turnover we do. People might leave for money, culture, skills mismatch, performance, or attendance, or possibly they found another opportunity. If the impact of turnover is limiting your ability to bid, complete, or win projects it is important to determine what pieces of that you can impact and set plans in motion to reduce turnover. When you have an idea of workforce needs coupled with your normal turnover rates you can then create a forecasted demand for the next six, 12, or even 24 months. But how does this impact C3’s ability to demonstrate that we are impacting the industry’s talent pipeline? Good question! When contractors anonymously report individual demand for key positions that span multiple types of trade partners (laborers, foremen, helpers, etc) we can create a full picture of the need inside Houston’s commercial market. For example, if Company A knows that they have a 6-month forecast of 10 apprentice electricians, they go to the local high school that offers an electrical program. The school has only 8 students graduating this year and they all have job offers at Company B, Company C, and Company D. Had all these companies worked together to forecast the need they could have leveraged other schools to teach an electrical program or worked with one of the community colleges to create a boot camp that generates basic electrical knowledge and construction safety. Then all four companies could have been fully staffed to produce high quality and safe work throughout Houston. When we report together (keeping individual companies' needs anonymous) we are able to create scale in our recruiting, training, and hiring practices. It puts contractor collaborations like C3 in the driver's seat with regard to the talent pipeline. We are able to leverage key relationships with “vendors” like ISDs, community partners, and colleges to create a stronger pool of candidates that meet our collective needs. It becomes much like managing our supply of materials to ensure that we aren’t relying only on one relationship to get the job done. I get it, collaboration like this might be risky and feel sort of hard at first. But it is what C3 was founded to do and what drives our mission forward. It is more than just a number, we have to create a community of contractors that speak the same language and have defined a base level of threshold competency that is required for common job roles. While one may call someone an apprentice, another a helper, and still another a laborer if the basic duties of the day include the same thing we can begin to create a forecast and job profile that assists our vendors in creating a solid line of people to our doors. As we begin to work together to define and articulate need we will finally be able to measure not just the gap between current labor needs and workforce but our ability to attract and retain new people to the industry. So I’m hopeful that you are ready to learn about how you can start collaborating with other contractors in our community to create some synergy propelling C3 forward. Collaboratives are being started in January of 2023 get your company to the front of the line by joining here. And don’t miss our final installment on metrics in two weeks “But did they stay?” Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director Advocate, Metrics! In one news brief article? It can’t be done y’all. That is the conversation I had with the marketing team, and they smiled and said great make it a series – so here we are a 3 part series on how we can measure the impact we are having on the industry. And more specifically how we are making a difference and achieving our mission of strengthening the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft professional talent pipeline. Part 1 – what you are reading today will cover our current metrics Part 2 – publishing on July 27thwill talk about how we prepare individually to track the talent pipeline Part 3 - publishing on August 10th will talk about the collaborative impact of C3 on the pipeline and how we can create sustainability together. We could do the traditional jump in the deep end but in all honesty, we are still wading on the splash pad when it comes to our current C3 metrics. Even though our mission is about the workforce our metrics are about largely about the projects. When we first rolled out our three pillars, safety was the low-hanging fruit and we made it part of our DNA at C3. So appropriately it is part of what we are currently measuring on projects. In case you did not know, C3 projects are required to submit the following things at the beginning of each month, and we report on them the following month in our news brief in a spotlight called C3 by the numbers. The items reported are: 1. Who has signed into the project and received the C3 orientation, 2. What C3 safety refresh module was delivered and how many people attended the delivery 3. Total manhours worked on the project in that month 4. TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) So, here is our current state. Data is nothing without interpretation so what does it tell us about our progress? These data points demonstrate the C3 participants (Accredited Employers and Project Participants) are actively receiving ongoing safety training on job sites and that overall C3 participants produce safer jobs that the industry standard for US non-residential construction. These measures are quantitative but not substantive enough to tell us that C3 is accomplishing its mission of attracting and retaining top talent and strengthening the pipeline. Additional quantitative data can be seen through our C3 Craft Training Endorsement. This show the number of Accredited Employers who have completed the endorsement process and the level to which their internal training programs are endorsed. We track these Accredited Employers for retention and conversion of Project Participants to Accredited Employers annually. Our final qualitative piece of data is how many individuals and companies have received training in OSHA 10, 30, Driving Business Results, Construction Workforce Development Professional, and Mentoring for Craft Professionals. Still not enough to definitively prove we are achieving our mission. This leaves us looking at some qualitative data points. These come from testimonials of individuals and companies that tell us they can see a significant difference in the quality and productivity as well as safety of a C3 jobsite. Additional feedback has shown that the perception is a C3 jobsite has better collaboration and professionalism among the trades as they work together to create the building program with the GC, design professionals, and owner. For as much work and as many manhours as C3 has completed, this isn’t a lot of data and it is hard to directly correlate the impact on the industry to specific C3 programs. This means we are currently going a bit with a gut feeling of “C3 is overall doing good.” While we continue to gain ground and can see our contractor count growing along with our owner base and project total, we cannot effectively map metrics to program but we believe that we are making a shift in the industry and working toward fulfilling our mission. But the thing that keeps me up at night is the question – How can I demonstrate that progress more directly? Next time – tapping into Angela’s dreams for talent pipeline tracking Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director Advocate, When it comes to solving our workforce sustainability problems Ryunosoke Satoro had it right all the way back in 1824, individually we are just a drop but together we are the ocean. That is the basic premise of C3 and our collaboration between owner, GC, specialty, and design professionals. Collaboratively we make a bigger wave. It is why currently we are working on three new key initiatives to make for a stronger pipeline.
Look for more great partnerships outlined in future issues of the newly rebranded "Priming the Pipeline" newsletter on workforce sustainability. In the meantime, if you hold a degree in Human Resources or Workforce Development and would like to join our team - head to our LinkedIn profile to apply for our open position. Can't find that email your resume and interest to me directly. Together we can form the wave that changes the industry. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director Hello Friend, A few years back Diane Aguilar, Chuck Gremillion and I started working with Debra Haney, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocesan Schools in Galveston-Houston. She had a great big dream to convert a currently closed elementary school into a career and technical high school that gave students the opportunity to pursue career readiness alongside their Catholic faith. Here are a few quick notes on what the progress looks like from a brief Q&A between C3 and the superintendent. C3: Superintendent Haney, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Can you start by telling us about St. Peter Catholic? SH: St. Peter Catholic – A Career & Technical High School is for students in Houston! This new technical high school will support career readiness in various career paths along with formation in the Catholic faith. It will be located in the Third Ward, very close to Downtown Houston, The Texas Medical Center, University of Houston, Texas Southern University, and the Museum District. C3: With all the options and opportunities for students in Houston already, what was the vision for St. Peter? SH: The vision is that students can come to this school and have more future opportunities than ever before! They can earn certificates and find a career path that suits them as they can go directly into the workforce after high school graduation – skilled, educated, and certified if they so choose. St. Peter Catholic will serve as a state-of-the-art educational training facility. The facility will emulate business/industry and college environments. Students will use business and industry-standard technology, software, and equipment while learning in a setting designed to promote personalized, differentiated learning and maximizing student engagement and success. Students will gain interpersonal skills that are critical in the workplace – communication, time management, goal-setting, problem-solving, and team building. C3: What types of programs will St. Peter offer when it opens? SH: Curriculum offerings and program areas or job paths will be in four main areas: Architecture & Construction; Business, Marketing, & Finance; Education & Training; and Information Technology Support. Those focusing on Architecture & Construction may find jobs in architecture firms, construction companies, real estate, building inspection companies, cities/state entities, surveying companies, insurance companies, or a myriad of other corporations. Those focusing on Business, Marketing, & Finance will likely end up working in banks, marketing firms, accounting firms, audit companies, corporations with accounting, payroll, marketing departments, small businesses, churches, or schools. Those in the job path or programming for Education & Training can certainly work in our Catholic schools, daycare, any elementary school, hospitals, preschools, Mothers’ Day Out programs, or other places. And those focusing on Information Technology Support will follow career paths in any technology department across a plethora of industries or in companies such as BP, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and the like. C3: Well since C3 helped with the curriculum along with marketing and fundraising I am pleased to see some emphasis on Construction and Architecture. It is clear that St. Peter is really trying to appeal to a new demographic in the church. Can you tell me about that? SH: Our goal is to provide a low-cost, Catholic-centered, technical education for students who are looking to develop job-ready skills that will allow them to enter the workforce directly out of high school with an in-demand skill set. St. Peter will provide a high standard of education while focusing on character building and faith formation. St. Peter will produce highly qualified and motivated young adults, ready to engage the world. C3: Well Superintendent Haney, St. Peter sure sounds like a great addition to our career-ready talent pipeline. What can C3 participants do to further support you as you launch your programming? SH: As you know Angela, no institution has been more successful than the Catholic school system in leading generations out of poverty to bright, promising, and fulfilling lives. Catholic schools are an important source of strength, hope, and opportunity for our families and their children. For those interested in learning more or supporting either through volunteering or financial assistance we encourage you to reach out at www.stpeterhs.org. Career readiness from high schools plays a big part in the success of students to launch into careers as they exit the halls of schools and enter our workforce. We appreciate the efforts of programs like St. Peter Catholic and the local ISDs for working to build with us a pipeline of talent. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
C3 Executive Director Hello Friend, Something I have learned in my career is that there are certain times when it is critical to manage your assets and resources. One such time is when you are hiring new employees. You cannot impact your workforce more than during the period between a job offer and onboarding. Nothing else is more impactful! At that point, they learn your company’s communication style, how you do culture, how you handle interactions. They learn if you will be proactive in managing their expectations and if they believe you can meet those expectations or if you are just going to be MIA. When you are missing in action you lose the opportunity to create loyalty and brand identification before they even start. Chances are that if they accepted your offer they are excited about working with you and for you. Don’t squander that enthusiasm by not having a plan! If you know it takes 2-3 weeks or even a month to get from offer to onboard, make sure you set that expectation with them. Give them these four things
None of this is rocket science or even really hard but I believe life is really about the little things. It is these little things that make it that much easier to manage your workforce and keep you moving forward. At least that is what I’ve learned. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor C3 Executive Director Reba Taville
Your Learning &Development Business Partner Hello Friend, If you are anything like me, you have most likely seen, read, or heard about how COVID has changed the workforce, changed the way we work, and modified employees’ expectations of employers. The reality is that in the construction industry, we were already amid a workforce shift and COVID simply accelerated it. When Construction Career Collaborative (C3) was formed more than 10 years ago, there was already a strain on talent in the Houston Commercial Construction Industry, and we knew something had to change. As you may know, C3 was the brainchild of multiple construction leaders collaborating to shift this industry back to a more desirable one for up-and-coming talent. We were born out of an industry need, hence our last name ‘Collaborative’. Since our formation, we’ve worked to identify and provide the Houston Commercial Construction Industry with programs and services that will help elevate the craftsman and elevate the desire of the next generation to enter the trades. If you are receiving this newsletter, that leads me to assume 3 things about you:
I very much hope that all assumptions are correct! If they are, you are exactly whom I look forward to meeting at the Houston Commercial Construction Workforce Development Conference on September 29th. That’s right, you don’t have to go far to learn what your peers are doing to help elevate the workforce in our industry and network with them to dive deeper. Plus who doesn't love a conference followed by networkin There is an old proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” One consistent practice that I have found to be true in my life, is that I have gone so much further when I collaborate, ask questions, and explore new ideas. We need more of the next generation to become curious and interested in what we are building, literally and figuratively. And just as our name indicates, we must collaborate to positively impact the industry workforce challenges, so, we are excited to present this conference in conjunction with AGC Houston. Together, we are creating a space for you to explore best practices and network with your peers to find better solutions. I look forward to connecting with you at the Conference! If you want to meet before then to discuss how you can sponsor or get involved, drop me a line at Reba@c3.org. Sincerely, Reba Taville Your Learning &Development Business Partner Angela Robbins Taylor, MHRM
Executive Director Hello Friend, It is such a pleasure to be part of this organization and I really look forward to our golf tournament each year as the main place I get to see many of you. So as you can imagine when we first open up our golf registration, I am watching closely to see who is joining us. We opened our registration just a couple of weeks ago and already we are pleased to say that the event will have the following underwriters all of them returning from previous years. McCarthy Building Companies MAREK Texas Exterior Systems TDI We also have Camarata Masonry Systems coming back to sponsor Dinner and Peckar & Abramson hosting Happy Hour. I’ve also seen over a dozen teams register so far. You all will help us sell out again this year and that means I get to connect with people and see your smiling faces soon! But this year I have a new place to visit and network with all of C3’s wonderful participants, our 1st Annual Workforce Development Conference. Not sure what this one is - think of it as a safety conference but for training and workforce professionals. Reba will be telling us all about it in a future news brief but I wanted to share a few of the great companies that are going to be joining us and whom you should be joining as well. The Diamond Sponsors are Tellepsen Builders and Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing And Platinum Sponsors are McCarthy Building Companies and MAREK So are you joining us? I really want to see your face, hear your workforce stories, and enjoy a few good moments of golf and learning with those who are the most active and engaged in our mission. Plus with over 500 participating companies I haven't even come close to meeting you all. Come on out and let’s get to know each other better and simultaneously move our industry forward in the pursuit of a safe, skilled, sustainable craft workforce. Can't make our events? They aren’t the only way to connect with C3. Our team will be all over the place this spring and summer collaborating with and supporting other associations and events. Grab a photo with you and a C3 staffer at any industry event and send it to me via email (angela@c3.org) I'll put your name in the “I found C3 roaming in the wild” raffle being held at the end of our golf tournament on October 25, 2022! Prize to be announced on social media next week! See you soon, Angela Robbins Taylor, MHRM Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor, MHRM Executive Director James’ granddaughter
Angela Robbins Taylor, MHRM, MAPC Executive Director Hello Friend, In 1948, James Johnson and his wife Bonnie sold the family farm in rural Alabama to make a better life for their four children. They moved the family north to Indianapolis and restarted building a life. James had a 3rd-grade education but was a hard worker and was good with his hands. Bonnie had made it to 6th grade and was willing to try anything to make certain that her kids would have a high school education. They could be said to be good parents who were making hard decisions to move their family forward. It kind of reminds me of something I overheard at a conference a few weeks ago. "A good owner is one who makes decisions." It resonated with me as being the very crux of what we do at C3. We are about making decisions from the owner level down that impact the livelihood and well-being of craft professionals. Construction Career Collaborative is about making the same decision that James and Bonnie did in 1948. They sold a piece of land that had been in the family for nearly 80 years to make a better way for the next generation. C3 is combating the generations of deterioration of our industry and its reputation. Knowing that change has to happen at the top, C3 works to engage owners to make decisions to move us forward. But owners can't do it alone. It takes all of us working to create a better path that provides for those that produce our built environment. Like James Johnson, we have to make a decision to change with no guarantee that it will in fact get better. At the very least we owe these men and women the same respect and working conditions that we are given by their buildings that house our offices, places of worship, and schools. They build so we can flourish and yet we have created a world where they work in less than desirable situations and our industry is seen as a job, not a lifelong career. We often talk in these quick articles about the ways we benefit the contractor through our programming and how C3 can help you build your business through quality talent management. However, the crux of our why is because craft professionals deserve to be treated as professionals. They deserve to be employees who receive fair and livable wages in return for their quality work. They deserve to be protected against injury and provide the opportunity to grow their skills within their trade. At the very least they deserve to be in a career field that is respected for the amazing feats of engineering they bring to life. Even without guarantees that it will get better, we have to continue to be good owners and good stewards of our construction family. Pushing our industry forward requires everyone to make the decision to do what is right simply because it is in fact the right thing to do for the craft professional. Just in case you were wondering what happened to James and his family, he started working in a factory and eventually made his way to the masonry trade. James found a way to sustain the family at a middle-class level and see his two boys graduate high school and enter the trades themselves. His two girls also graduated and one went on to college and end up in real estate. Jumping forward to 2022, his grandkids, of which there are 10, all graduated high school and between them, they hold 7 Bachelor's degrees, 6 Master's degrees, and 2 PhD's. It could be said that his family's success was built on his ability to build. Their success was a direct impact of his being employed, valued, and allowed to achieve mastery of his trade but more importantly, their lives are testament to doing what you believe is right with no guarantee it will change anything. Making a decision to do it just because you know it is the right thing to do! Collaboratively, James’ granddaughter Angela Robbins Taylor, MHRM, MAPC Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Hello Friend, What is better than friends, golf, sunshine, and supporting C3? Not much that I can think of! We are back at it with our 12th Annual Golf Classic. Blackhorse will be hosting us again with a total of 72 available foursomes. We will shotgun start at noon on October 25th so make sure you clear your calendar and don't wait to sign up as we always sell out. This year we are honored to be underwritten by TDIndustries, Marek, McCarthy, and Texas Exterior Systems. All of our underwriters have been with us for multiple years now and we are so grateful for their commitment to C3's mission and golf. As you may recall we stepped up that raffle game last year and Nick is already getting us all sorts of crazy cool raffle items. Have a set of tickets to the Texans, Rockets, or Dynamo you want to contribute to the raffle, just let Nick know by emailing him directly at Nick@c3.org. Remember all donations to C3 are tax-deductible. We will have food on the course again like last year so if you want to have a gold beverage station providing food or alcohol please contact Diane directly and she will hook you up with all the details you need - diane@c3.org. Don't play golf but want some sunshine therapy we have volunteer spots available. Hit our volunteer registration form on our website and we will reach back out to you with details and times. Trust me you don't want to miss this event. But more importantly, we don't want to miss you - registration opens April 1st. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Hello Friend, So many things have happened in the last two weeks for Construction Career Collaborative (C3), that I just can't wait to share it all with you. First, we held an incredibly successful #SHEbuildsHouston event. Thanks to our underwriters Turner Construction, TDI, and Satterfield & Pontikes. And a huge thank you to Action Gypsum Supply and CertainTeed for the wonderful safety kits. With over 70 volunteers, 22 speakers, 31 booths, and 1000 young women we far exceeded our expectations and it was a great treat to have ABC13 and Nick Natarrio out to talk workforce with us. If you missed the interview, you can find it on our website. This was followed closely by our social media campaign featuring family ties. We featured women who are in the industry because of parents and even women who are in the industry inspiring the kids to join us. We will be continuing the series on Fridays and so we are seeking your pictures of you and your industry parent or grandparent or you and your industry child. Drop yours in email to diane@c3.org. WIC Week also saw an opportunity for us to present about workforce on a podcast with Build with Billd. Check it out here. In the midst of all the great WIC week and #SHEbuildsHouston planning, we also kicked off a program to collaborate with Hastings High School in Alief ISD where they run a PTECH program. PTECH is a really great hybrid of Career and Technical Education that produces high school graduates who earn both a diploma and an Associates in Construction Management through HCC. We are looking for companies that are interested in hiring this year's graduating class or interning the juniors. Most of these graduates aspire to be Project Superintendents - one of the harder to fill positions out there. Wow, I've got to take a breath. That was so much for just one week but the truth is we have more!!! Did you know that our golf tournament sells out every year, not to brag but we host a good one! And registration opens next month. Grab the save the date below. And because life at C3 is always full of new programs for our contractors, in September we will partner with AGC to present the first annual Construction Workforce Development Conference. Geared to help Human Resource and Workforce Development professionals grow their toolkit, the conference will include topics like training, measurement of success, and employee engagement. Our speaker line up will be announced soon and this will be a stellar event. Check the website for updates regularly. While the workforce pipeline is still slower than the demand we are actively training, recruiting, and developing people at C3. Don't forget to grab your seat at Driving Business Results, Mentoring for Craft Professionals, or apply for the 2022-2023 cohort of Construction Workforce Development Professional Certification. Continuing Education is part of what we give our craft professionals make sure you invest in yourself as well. This brings me to the best news of the last two weeks. According to recent research about the great talent shift that happened during the pandemic as workers sought out new career fields, construction workers were among the least likely to leave their job. Even though the world around them was shifting our people stayed put. This tells me we are gaining momentum. We are keeping those we attract and they are happy and engaged. As we continue to recruit more to the pipeline, let's collaborate together to ensure they are the best craft professionals the world has encountered - let's allow them the opportunity to be true artisans who belong to the safe, skilled, and sustainable workforce we are creating. So until next time, share the mission with someone, sign up for a class, and well follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Hello Friend, It is March 2nd and we are feverishly preparing for the 2nd #SHEbuildsHouston event. We didn't ever plan to host this event, it grew organically. We never planned to host the second one outside in order to combat a pandemic or during Women's History Month. But we are. Great things just seem to grow organically like this one and well we couldn't be happier that this is happening two short days before the kick-off of Women In Construction Week. Maybe next year we can maneuver it to be Rosie the Riveter day (March 21st). Now wouldn't that be something? But celebrating how women can advance themselves and break down barriers is nothing new. On March 8, 2022, the world will collectively celebrate the day of the woman. Shortly after its inception in 1911, a group of women in Russia marched for peace, the right to vote, and equal pay. 111 years later women around the world will celebrate the theme of #BreaktheBias by joining together to have hard conversations with peers, walk for equity in pay and protection, and step one step closer to Sheryl's world where leaders are great because they lead not because of their gender. Construction Career Collaborative is all about breaking biases. There are a few out there in desperate need of breaking. Just as important as equity for women is the idea that all jobs are valuable and our world revolves on the hands and feet of all who are contributing to their society. C3's most important mission from inception has been to re-establish the trade's as a desirable career. I would imagine if we could talk to the great builders of the pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and palaces of yesteryear they would be surprised that construction is viewed in any way negatively. After all, they were sought after, seen as masters of the craft, and able to point to with pride to the world around them and say "I built that". The world we live in now sees construction as dangerous and dead-end and probably a last resort job and not a career. While we know that construction careers provide the opportunity to express the creative and the beautiful through the built environment. We manage projects with integrity and we work collectively to produce high-quality results in a safe and timely manner. Unfortunately, the world has been sold another bill of goods. Now is the time to #breakthebias against our industry as well. So join us at #SHEbuildsHouston or create a women's event of your own. Set up a program to intern some new recruits or volunteer with us as we create a sustainable workforce. And if you are so inclined tag us in your Strike the Pose #breakthebias posts on March 8th as we celebrate the women who are following in the family Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Diane Aguilar
C3 Marketing & Operations Manager Hello Friend, You may be surprised at how often I hear “I didn’t realize how small the C3 staff is”. I take this as a huge compliment, especially because about 50 percent of our staff has joined us within the last year. But here we are. A team of just eight highly motivated individuals. Getting all the stuff done. Impacting projects, companies, schools, and the industry as much as we can with all we’ve got. I recently got to spend my lunch break with our newest staff member, Nancy, and I realized that we are still getting to know each other. So, if we are still getting to know one another within our office, what do our partners know about us? Who do you know that works at C3? What exactly do you think they do for the organization? Reflecting on how to tell you who our staff is, I’ve noticed we all have several things in common. Every single person on our staff takes pride in the ownership of duties, and I have never heard a staff member say they were unable to take on a new challenge. In fact, I witness the opposite almost daily. I see staff members jump in and offer to help other staff members at any opportunity. If they can’t help, they will at least offer an ear to listen or a little “cheer-up dance” if you’re lucky. So let me introduce you to this fabulous team of people I consider family. Serafina is usually the first voice a person hears when they call for information about enrolling. She is our Operations Administrator and handles all incoming inquiries by phone and email, and if you’ve ever been on our website and seen our little Serafina-bot pop up offering to help, that’s actually her! She is excited to jump in wherever she can, so on top of handling all the steps of getting companies enrolled, she also tracks all of our financials and helps keep the website up to date as companies enroll or reach new craft training endorsement levels. Ebrahim (Eb) is our Industry Outreach Director and one of our newest staff members. His position and energy allow us to develop and offer new student outreach events. He is currently running the planning for our #SHEbuildsHouston event as well as our Educational Committee. He is also working to plan our upcoming career awareness event and career fair, as well as planning our attendance at other educational functions. Daniel is our Compliance Manager. This may sound scary, but I assure you that Daniel does his best to help every project team come as close to reaching perfect compliance as possible. He goes above and beyond to make sure project teams are given ample time to address any findings he may come across on a job site visit because he believes that we are not into the business of slapping wrists, we are looking for ways to elevate the industry and this can only happen by upholding C3 requirements. In addition to taking care of compliance, Daniel has recently taken over our Safety Committee and is currently working on developing a scorecard to present to project owners. Nick, one of our Learning & Development Business Consultants, has been with us for over a year now and has made a huge contribution to our staff and what we’ve been able to offer. He not only consults with companies, but he also leads instruction on many of our courses and always makes himself available to bounce around ideas. Nick served our country as an Army Staff Sergeant for 18 years and did two tours during his service. He demonstrates what he learned in the army about teamwork every single day. Reba has been with C3 longer than most. She is also a Learning & Development Business Consultant and spends most of her day meeting with external companies to help them develop training programs and competency maps so they can reach their craft training endorsement goals. Within the office, she has is our Excel and Access expert who can build beautiful spreadsheets and charts. Like everyone else, she is happy to offer a hand whenever she sees the need and has proven herself to be a true-blue friend for the past three years I’ve worked with her. Nancy, our Talent Management Business Consultant, as I mentioned earlier is our newest staff member. Her position is similar to that of what Reba and Nick do. She consults with external companies to help prepare them to reach their desired craft training endorsement levels. She has a strong focus on HR, so she brings this to their companies as well. In her short time with C3, I’ve already seen how she naturally brings our staff closer together and inspires collaboration. On top of that, it’s undeniably obvious that she truly cares about everyone on the staff and in the companies with whom she meets. Angela… what can I say about our Executive Director. I’ve worked with her almost as long as she’s been at C3, and I’ve witnessed her grow into new positions at a pace I didn’t even know was possible. She not only handles the executive functions of meeting with representatives of outside companies, and communicating with the board of directors, but she is engaged in every aspect of C3. She’s done an excellent job of recruiting talent that has drive, ambition, and fits so well within this organization. Probably most importantly, she makes it a point to check in and ask about how each of us is doing every day on both professional and personal levels. She is my first boss that has truly understood how much life and stressors at home can affect our work and she is always there to offer any guidance she can. She is truly an inspiration to all of us here at C3. And I’m Diane. As I mentioned, I’ve been with C3 almost as long as Angela. I started as the Operations Administrator where I put many processes into place. I enjoy talking with people about C3 and our mission, and since starting at C3, I’ve finished a degree and moved up to become the Marketing & Operations Manager. In this position, I oversee both the operations and compliance departments and handle all our digital and traditional marketing. I also help as much as I can in as many places as possible because I want to see all our efforts succeed, and because I love getting to work with all of these fabulous people. So, there you have it. We are a small staff trying to make a big impact. If you work with us at all, you probably know that the impact we are trying to make just isn’t possible without the involvement of volunteers and companies who believe in us. Thank you for believing in us and for being so wonderful to work with. I hope to get to know each of you well and on a personal level because people with hearts like yours, like those of each of our staff members, just make life and work so much better. If you want to be more involved in helping us impact the commercial construction industry but haven’t had a chance yet, please click on the button below to learn where you can plug in as a volunteer or committee member. Collaboratively, Diane Aguilar C3 Marketing & Operations Manager Nick Guidry, MBA, M.Ed., SHRM-SCP
C3 People Development Team Greetings! After the first day on the job, does a new apprentice or newly hired experienced craft professional instantly become a company asset who no longer needs additional coaching or mentorship? Has the employee graduated from the need for performance evaluation to ensure the employee is assimilating, reaching full competency or proficiency, and actualizing the full scope of their talents? Of course not. The reality is, as posited by Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, “The business of business is people – yesterday, today, and forever.” The business strategy or strategic plan of companies in the commercial construction space is directly aligned with the people strategy embraced by company leaders. Confidence in the sustainability of strategic plans is not simply founded on having the best suppliers, most innovative applications, standing relationships with owners, sterling company reputations, or the best bidding processes, but also on having the right people, harvesting employee proficiency, and driving worker engagement. Tony Dungy, Pro Football Hall of Fame former head coach of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts, asserts in his book The Mentor Leader, “Engage, educate, equip, encourage, empower, energize, and elevate. Those are the methods for maximizing the potential of any individual, team, organization, or institution for ultimate success and significance.” Coach Dungy expressed in an interview with the Positive Coaching Alliance that “I think as a coach, you are more than just an athletic instructor. You are there to help them grow.” Construction leaders who align themselves with C3’s mission commit to positively impacting the future of the industry by strengthening the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce talent pipeline. The effectiveness of this strategy is aligned with embracing the sustainable workforce process of effective recruiting, onboarding, development, evaluation, and identifying future leaders. This process is the focus of C3’s Driving Business Results through Talent Management course. One vein that runs throughout the sustainable workforce process is mentorship. Mentorship is a process that begins during the onboarding stage and continues, either formally or informally, until an employee exits your organization. Mentorship is a structured, often one-to-one relationship in a professional setting with an outcome of increasing engagement, advancing institutional knowledge, and building skills for future goals and milestones. When organizations set into action well thought out mentorship programs, they can “engage, educate, equip, encourage, empower, energize, and elevate” individual employees, future leaders, and the entire organization. Just like many of you, I have seen the explosive power of effective mentorship in my professional and personal life. Sergeant Major Charles Covington offered me my first operations management role in the military and help me to embrace my ability to solve complex issues by developing exhaustive task lists. Master Sergeant Jesus Marchan helped me to speak frankly with those in positions of power and to effectively develop courses of action for executive decision-making. Sergeant Major Michael Terzian taught me to embrace failures and course correct to ensure that performance or planning gaps were filled. C3’s Executive Director, Angela Robbins-Taylor has taught me the value of casting a larger strategic vision and managing multiple lines of effort. This is not intentionally a recognition of my mentors but rather an empirical example of where mentorship can take an employee and how that development can benefit your organization. C3 is excited to offer the NCCER Mentoring for Craft Professionals course on February 8, 2022. We encourage Accredited Employers to identify experienced craft professionals to attend. These professionals will receive tools to bring back to their companies which will help drive your people strategy. Mentoring Statistics: The Research You Need to Know
Collaboratively, Nick Guidry, MBA, M.Ed., SHRM-SCP C3 People Development Team Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Greetings! It's January of 2022 already and while I had held on to hopes that COVID would be behind us and we could all return to travel, face-to-face meetings, and handshakes that isn't where we are today. But truth be told, COVID really hasn't slowed down the progress of Construction Career Collaborative (C3) in the least. In reality, we are thriving. An email to me last week pointed out that nobody need ask how C3 is doing, as it is clear by the signs all over town that we are doing great. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. As 2022 progresses we know that our mission will be advanced on numerous new jobsites and with new owners across the city. The start of the year is a time for reflection and planning. A chat with a board member recently, reminded me that each year I must take a solid inventory of where we stand with our mission and core values. As the leader of the organization, it is crucial that I am the one who correlates our efforts to the mission. It is also the time of year that I review our strategy and plan our next endeavors. So what is next for C3? Where are we going and how does it all relate back to being an interdependent alliance of construction industry leaders, who are collectively committed to positively impacting the future of the industry by strengthening the safe, skilled and sustainable craft workforce pipeline? Well again this year, as in all years past, we will be seeking out owners who believe that closing the workforce gap is the responsibility of all that are involved in the creation and modification of our built environment. We will continue to seek to engage with owners who want to have stronger building programs because they work with companies that have stronger safety and training programs. Companies that understand when workers are engaged they are more productive and produce better quality product. We create this stronger and more vibrant group of owners only when we work together. It is this interdependence of our organization that makes us unique and pointed to by so many other regions as an example of what can be done when we all work toward a common mission. Owners can't do it alone. Our mission accomplishment requires that they are able to pass off the work to skilled and highly invested General Contractors who are actively working with our subcontractors to create a more skilled workforce. Just today our staff talked as a team about more ways we can help those contactors with craft professionals access and build competency that leads to better productivity and quality in our building programs. But really it can't stop with C3. It has to bridge the gap to our talent supply chain. We have to work to reach those that have the potential and the drive to become masters of their trade by joining the construction industry. So when we truly score the final goal of this game it will be because, as our mission says, we worked together to create an environment in which everyone touches the ball, passing and dribbling until we score by moving the needle on the workforce shortage. So while Omnicron may be making its way through our ranks so should a passion to see the future where our talent pipelines are full because we have worked together to create a new image of construction. One that provides individuals with the opportunity to work for companies that value employees and work to skill them to the highest level. An industry that offers the unique benefit of helping to craft the skyline of both our history and our future. A workforce that is honored for the essentialness of its work to all that makes our economy and country great. That's what 2022 and beyond hold for C3. That is what we are at our core - a rallying call for all those who have determined that their workforce is their greatest asset and are invested in being part of the solution. It is why we were born and what must always remain our primary focus. Together we build a better tomorrow. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Greetings! With the new year sitting right on the horizon, I'm certain many of us will begin to reflect on what we have accomplished in 2021 and what 2022 might hold for us both personally and professionally. December does this to me every year and 2021 has held some pretty great things for us at Construction Career Collaborative. We started the year off with our three-year strategy focused on four critical areas: Targeted Growth Organizational Sustainability Marketing and Brand Awareness Metrics Looking back over our past twelve months, I'm happy to say we made progress in each of these areas. We expanded to incorporate projects in Austin and Lake Charles. Our educational offerings grew from only Driving Business Results to include both NCCER and OSHA courses that increase the ability of contractors to continue the education of craft workers as well as those that create and implement craft training programs from the office to the field. We worked hard on creating a sustainable model for our governance as a 501c3 and found a number of places to locate our brand with partner events and throughout social and television media. Our golf tournament was the best we've ever held and sold out completely. And we are working to create a method to connect our owners and general contractors more regularly and honor owners who continually chose to build with C3 teams. Finally, we hired four new people in 2021 and said goodbye to one amazing Executive Director who retired. Our 2022 is shaping up to be our best year yet and we have plenty left ahead of us to accomplish. While our team grew and that gives us more capacity, we really do our best work side-by-side with our volunteers and 2022 will see us needing even more of you to get involved. We have so many spaces to welcome your creative expertise and we promise we always make it fun. So join our team and work with us to put together the golf tournament, owner luncheon, or an industry outreach event like #SHEbuildsHouston. Not an event person, then step into a role with our focus groups, metrics, craft training, safety, or marketing committees. We have something for everyone! So as you look toward 2022 and need a New Year's Resolution, how about this one - "For 2022, I'm going to be a C3 volunteer and collaborate to create a safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce." After all, we just can't do this without you. Happy Holidays and here's to seeing you in 2022! Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Greetings! Can you believe it has only been a four short years that I have worked with C3 on the mission of strengthening the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce in Houston? And yet we have grown exponentially through that four years, adding experts to our consulting staff and taking on new and exciting adventures like our grant from the Houston-Galveston Workforce Board. And the growth just keeps happening. We are hiring AGAIN! If you know someone who is a talented consultant with a strong talent management background we need to hear about them. This person will continue to help us provide consulting services and endorsements to companies for their craft training programs. Click on the link below to see the full hiring profile on LinkedIN. Beyond our amazing team, we have added programs that we believe will provide true value to our Accredited Employers and their workforce both in the office and now in the field. Two weeks ago we announced the OSHA partnership with AGC that is available to C3 Accredited Employers and this week we launched our first cohort of NCCER's Construction Workforce Development Professional. And we aren't done yet. Registration is open for NCCER's Mentoring for Craft Professionals. This course will be taught by C3 staff, thanks to the NCCER sponsorship of ABC/CMEF. The course teaches craft professionals how to mentor other craft workers to continue their skill growth in the field. If you have an on-the-job training program and rely on the field to mentor and teach, this class is a must have for your organization. We can't grow like this unless we have the partner companies like our growing list of Accredited Employers, General Contractors, Advocates, and Owners. Together we are strengthening the industry. Together we are elevating the level the ability of construction to compete for high quality talent. Together we are creating sustainability for commercial construction in Houston. So thank you for being part of our growth and pushing to move the needle on construction workforce sustainability. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Collaboratively,
Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Greetings! In case you missed our social media posts, I had the privilege of being hosted by NCCER last week. I met with Vice President of Innovation, Jennifer Wilkerson. If you are not familiar with NCCER (National Center for Construction Education Research), they are a leading provider of construction craft training materials. They have built out content for numerous trades over the last two decades that help contractors create a more highly skilled craft workforce. Their content includes both instruction and performance verification because, like C3, they believe that demonstrating the ability to perform work is of the utmost importance. The NCCER and C3 discussion was focused on how to better serve the commercial contractor. Highly leveraged in the industrial space, NCCER is aware they are not delivering a product that matches the needs of the commercial space. And of course, that is where C3 can assist. Look at this as your opportunity to have experts in content and training listen to your needs for courses and build uniquely for our industry. Opportunities to register for focus groups will be coming in early spring so be watching for them. And if you missed the social media post - make sure you follow us for all the latest news and happenings. All our social media channels are listed at the bottom of this newsletter. You might also have seen that we have sent out early registration for #SHEBuildsHouston. The events with schools are coming back to face-to-face opportunities and we can't wait to be sharing our passion for the industry with students. We are actively recruiting sponsor and booths. If you didn't receive the early registration email, don't worry general registration opens up right after we return from Thanksgiving Break. Or if you are in a hurry contact us to get a jump start. Can you believe it is already the holiday season? For me personally this has been a year of change and growth and I have so much to be grateful for. Starting with our Board of Directors who are tireless in their willingness to help me and the staff pursue the right things to support our mission. And how about my staff, they are among the best I have ever worked alongside. C3 has two new staff members, Ebrahim Sadek and Nancy Lankford, joining in October and November respectively. Ebrahim, aka Eb, is our industry outreach program director and has a tremendous passion for helping students find, explore, and succeed in launching their career. Most recently, Eb worked on a Department of Labor project at Lee College that focused on placing people in accelerated training programs leading to jobs in the middle skills trades. I am excited to see his trajectory at C3 and grateful to have a person dedicated to sustainability in the talent pipeline. Nancy joins C3 to round out the triad of Talent Management business consultants with Reba and Nick. She comes to C3 with a strong skillset in human capital and will bring a fresh set of ideas and eyes to our people development programs. Her addition to the team provides us with much needed bandwidth to reach out to and assist even more companies with Craft Training Endorsement. The staff and Board are key to my personal success as well as the success of our organization. But truly we can accomplish nothing without the contractors, advocates, and owners who participate with us. For each of you I am truly grateful. C3 wishes each of you and those you hold dear a wonderful Thanksgiving. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Greetings!
What a beautiful October we had. I hope you were able to enjoy some time outside in the beautiful weather it offered. We had such a wonderful time with the 70 teams that showed up at Blackhorse Golf Course for the 11th Annual C3 Golf Classic. We look forward to this day each year as one of our favorites. The staff and I wish we could hang out with our fantastic participating companies and supporters every day. Seeing each of you and being able to host an event that creates so many smiles is a privilege. Thank you to each of you for your support of our mission to strengthen the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce talent pipeline. This year was a terrific year for our golf committee as they raised more money than we ever have in our ten-year history. We were able to secure some amazing raffle prize donations and had outstanding volunteers. I'd like to thank everyone by name but will call out just a few here for their extraordinary contributions. Our committee was led by two people who worked long hours to see it be the best it ever has been. Thank you to our committee chair, Glen Blaha from MAREK, and C3 Marketing and Operations Manager, Diane Aguilar. Additionally, a shout-out is deserved by our raffle prize specialist, Nick Guidry. Nick's day job is consulting companies on workforce but by night he procures some really great prizes. Additionally, we couldn't do any of this without our underwriters. Thank you again to MAREK, McCarthy Building Company, TDIndustries, Texas Exterior Systems, and Harvey Builders. If you missed it this year make sure to scan the QR code below to get on our early notification list. We move to Monday, October 24th next year and I know it will be another event you don't want to miss. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Greetings! It was almost two years ago today that we first hosted the #SHEbuildsHouston event at M.O. Campbell Event Center. The event allowed over 1000 young women to touch the tools and technology of construction as well as hear the powerful stories of women from the field to the C-suite. The women who volunteered and companies who participated have all been anxiously awaiting the next event that had been postponed due to the pandemic and venue challenges. But the wait is over! #SHEbuildsHouston will be announcing the official event date for Spring of 2022 next Friday. Partnering with Alief ISD for the venue and inviting Spring Branch ISD to join we are planning for 1500 attendees. Construction Career Collaborative along with National Association of Women in Construction's Houston Chapter will open registration and sponsorship sign up on November 1st. Not familiar with the event check out the photos from 2019 or read the Houston Chronicle article. Interested in getting all the updates? Send us an email to be added to our #SHEbuildsHouston distribution list. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director Angela Robbins Taylor
Executive Director Greetings! Can you believe it has only been a four short years that I have worked with C3 on the mission of strengthening the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce in Houston? And yet we have grown exponentially through that four years, adding experts to our consulting staff and taking on new and exciting adventures like our grant from the Houston-Galveston Workforce Board. And the growth just keeps happening. We are hiring AGAIN! If you know someone who is a talented consultant with a strong talent management background we need to hear about them. This person will continue to help us provide consulting services and endorsements to companies for their craft training programs. Click on the link below to see the full hiring profile on LinkedIn. Beyond our amazing team, we have added programs that we believe will provide true value to our Accredited Employers and their workforce both in the office and now in the field. Two weeks ago we announced the OSHA partnership with AGC that is available to C3 Accredited Employers and this week we launched our first cohort of NCCER's Construction Workforce Development Professional. And we aren't done yet. Registration is open for NCCER's Mentoring for Craft Professionals. This course will be taught by C3 staff, thanks to the NCCER sponsorship of ABC/CMEF. The course teaches craft professionals how to mentor other craft workers to continue their skill growth in the field. If you have an on-the-job training program and rely on the field to mentor and teach, this class is a must have for your organization. We can't grow like this unless we have the partner companies like our growing list of Accredited Employers, General Contractors, Advocates, and Owners. Together we are strengthening the industry. Together we are elevating the level the ability of construction to compete for high quality talent. Together we are creating sustainability for commercial construction in Houston. So thank you for being part of our growth and pushing to move the needle on construction workforce sustainability. Collaboratively, Angela Robbins Taylor Executive Director James F. Carnes Sr.
U.S. Department of Labor What is a Pre-Apprenticeship Program? Pre-Apprenticeship is a program or set of strategies that are designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP). Pre-apprenticeship can be integrated into high school career and technical programs with the help of a contractor who is sponsoring the students. Consider the Benefits of Pre-Apprenticeship Employers Save time and money: Pre-Apprenticeship programs provide pre-screened, ready-to-work employees who have been trained in the specific skills employers need. Find partners to help design your program. Educators Many successful Pre-Apprenticeship programs are housed at high schools and community colleges because they offer hands-on learning opportunities for students. Learn more about how apprenticeship boosts education. Career Seekers A Pre-Apprenticeship program can help you prepare for the apprenticeship that's right for you. Read more about the federal Pre-Apprenticeship programs YouthBuild and Job Corps or search our Partner Finder to see sponsors that may offer a Pre-Apprenticeship program. What Creates a Quality Pre-Apprenticeship Program? Quality pre-apprenticeship programs can play a valuable role in providing work-based learning to help people prepare for an entry-level apprenticeship. While Pre-Apprenticeship programs have varied designs and approaches, the Department of Labor has outlined the elements of a quality pre-apprenticeship program that can place an individual on the potential career pathway to employability. APPROVED CURRICULUM Training that is based on industry standards SIMULATED EXPERIENCE Hands-on training or volunteer opportunities that do not displace paid employees FACILITATED ENTRY Agreements with sponsors that allow program participants to enter directly into an apprenticeship INCREASED DIVERSITY(Learn more about Diversity and Inclusion) Recruitment and preparation for underrepresented populations to be successful SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Wrap-around services or referrals to help participants complete the program (e.g childcare, transportation) SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS Collaboratively promote Registered Apprenticeship to other employers Case Studies Believing in the benefits that pre-apprenticeship programs can offer employers, educators, and individuals who are seeking a career change the Dep't of Labor has drafted the following real-life case studies serve as examples of pre-apprenticeships across various industries and occupations and the impact they are having in our communities. CVS HEALTH Attracted more diverse candidates, increased efficiency by 50%, and raised retention rates URBAN TECHNOLOGY PROJECT - Increased employment of disabled workers. CHICAGO WOMEN IN TRADES - 40% of participants were women and 90% were people of color, exceeding national averages. For Inquiries regarding Pre-apprenticeship or Registered Apprenticeship contact JAMES F. CARNES SR CELL 832 552 2267 Reba Taville Learning and Development Business Partner A good friend once told me, in a moment of stubbornness, “You don’t get to ‘not’ right now.” As much as I did not enjoy hearing it, he was right! And as I reflect, I am glad that I heard him and chose to act instead of remaining comfortable in that moment. When it comes to business growth, your organization need not remain comfortable. Learning and Development (L&D) is not an expendable resource, growth requires it. Ignoring L&D is the opposite of what the most successful organizations, especially in Houston’s Commercial Construction Industry, have documented as best business practices. Take a moment to think of the top five organizations in the commercial construction industry. Now think about what they have in common. Among other key factors, they have invested in and committed to L&D, from Laborer to Foreman, and beyond. One of my favorite books, Jim Collins's Good to Great, compares various companies which have either exceeded expectations during turbulent times or failed and became extinct because of an inability to innovate and pivot. “The good to great companies understood a simple truth; tremendous power exists in the fact of [continuous] improvement and the delivery of results.” Yes, your organization may have been around a long time, but if you find yourself saying, “This is how we’ve always done it,” I’m sorry to tell you, but you may soon find yourself among the companies that become extinct. In her 2017 book, Learning for the Long Run, Holly Burkett presents the “Seven Practices for Sustainability,” and in the middle is “Driving for Results, Continuously Improving”. At C3, one of our most recently launched programs is a course offered once a month entitled “Driving Business Results through Talent Management.” If you’ve taken the course, you know that when an organization places significance in, and practices, continuous improvement, it unlocks the door to greater revenue growth. And let’s be honest, revenue is one of the reasons your organization formed, isn’t it? Not the only reason for sure, but certainly one of the reasons!  W. Edward Deming believed in transformative learning and like Deming, I believe that when organizations encourage and support people's growth, it improves the business’ efforts toward the company’s growth and sustainability. At its core, Learning and Development is a commitment to innovation. High-performing organizations have a strong commitment to L&D, and they encourage pushing the limits beyond the status quo, continuously moving from what is to what can be.
“Well, we don’t want to pay to train them and then have them leave.” Sound familiar? Have you seen Amazon’s most recent campaigns? Amazon is now highlighting team members who’ve started a new career because Amazon invested in them. Instead of fearing employees leaving, they are choosing to highlight how they help people grow. Your company, most likely, is not as big as Amazon. GOOD NEWS, you don’t have to be! One of C3’s Champion level endorsed employers, Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing makes a habit of investing in its people and sharing their successes. Most recently, Chamberlin shared with C3 how its training and development practices have become their calling card. They have had employees return to the organization after realizing the value of the extensive learning and growth opportunities available at Chamberlin vs. the competitors. When you look at C3’s list of Champion level endorsed companies you’ll find that investing in organizational and individual growth is the trend. Are you ready to join this elite group of employers? Here’s my advice, start small. Don’t think of growth as a massive venture. All it takes is a series of small steps/commitments/choices that add up to something big. As the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant?” Listen, at the end of the day, there is no government or state mandate to improve continuously. But just as in our day-to-day lives, those who invest in themselves have a much better chance of thriving not only surviving. So, I am telling you, as my friend told me, “You don’t get to ‘not’ right now”. If you are a leader in your organization, I implore you, don’t leave your organization only to survive. Push the limits, invest in your team. Dare to grow! No, it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. And remember, C3 has a team of Talent Development Professionals to assist you and share best practices along the way. Angela Robbins-Taylor
Executive Director Breaking news for C3 comes in the form of a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Board (H-GAC). The H-GAC focuses on assisting companies in attracting, training, and retaining workers. They felt that the C3 mission of strengthening a safe, skilled, and sustainable workforce was something their grant money could truly help push forward. The grant, renewable for three years, provides Construction Career Collaborative with the funding to hire additional staff to assist with our craft training consultations and to increase opportunities for construction companies to pursue excellence in workforce. OSHA Training When applying for the grant C3 strategically looked at barriers to entry and ongoing success of our participating Accredited Employers and aimed to provide programs to fill those gaps. Throughout our history, C3 has heard from those seeking to participate as Accredited Employers (AEs) that OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 for the entire workforce can be a hard hurdle to pass. As part of this grant, we are pleased to announce that starting in the 4th quarter we will be partnering with the AGC to offer one OSHA 10 each month to AEs seeking to skill their entire workforce. There will be no cost for this course to those who are Accredited Employers. OSHA 30 will be offered quarterly and will also be free. Need a session in Spanish - C3 seeks to add those in Q1 of 2022. NCCER Training Knowing that a key to sustainable change is to build programs and support those programs with people, C3 included two new NCCER courses in our grant proposal. As it has never been the goal of C3 to train craft workers these two programs focus on enabling companies to become truly self-sustaining in relation to providing in-house craft training programs for their own workforce. The first course is Mentoring for Craft Professionals, a 10-hour course focused on helping journey-level professionals or foremen better aid in the training and mentoring of newer employees. Used in combination with our competency mapping and on-the-job training programs, this course will help companies launch and maintain a stronger career path for the workforce. With the advancement in craft training, it is clear that companies will need to have dedicated coverage of craft training in their office. To aid those who don't have direct expertise in workforce development, C3 will be offering the year-long certificate program, NCCER Construction Workforce Development Professional Certification. This course requires an application and letter of recommendation. If you are interested, please sign up soon, as spots are limited and filling quickly. You can find the application link here. Industry Awareness Outreach Finally understanding that best-in-class Human Resource practices and Craft Training programs are not enough to create a sustainable talent pipeline alone, the grant also allows C3 to hire an industry outreach specialist. This position will be responsible for creating stronger and more productive programs with students in ISDs, trade schools, and junior colleges. Our long-term goal with this position is to create a more positive image of construction as a career and to create strong conversion rates from school to career. It is an exciting time at Construction Career Collaborative as this grant begins to impact the depth and breadth of our programming for the future. We are stepping closer to our mission of collaboratively strengthening and growing the safe, skilled, and sustainable craft workforce talent pipeline. |
Industry linksConstruction Industry Institute (CII)
Construction Citizen Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Archives
November 2023
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Construction Career Collaborative
713-999-1013 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 920920 Houston, TX 77292 Physical Address: 3825 Dacoma St, Houston, TX 77092 |
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