Changing Perceptions of Construction Careers
One of the challenges the construction industry faces in recruiting and retaining the next generation of skilled workers is the negative perception that many people have of construction careers. For many people, construction is a fall back plan; it’s what you do when your first option (most likely college) doesn’t pan out. Additionally, many people falsely believe construction careers are low-pay, unsafe, dirty, low-tech, and lack career advancement opportunities. Over the last several years there have been many efforts that are trying to change this mentality. This includes, Build-Oregon, Building Futures Magazine, Educator Externship, industry focused career fairs, and and many other events and initiatives. It still feels like more needs to be done.
Recently, AGC partnered with Quinn Thomas, a Portland-based marketing and communications firm, to help build a comprehensive and measurable construction careers communications strategy. The goal is to create a campaign that will resonate with job seekers and assist contractors across the state in recruiting a skilled and diverse workforce. As part of this work, Quinn Thomas has developed a short survey for partners to provide input on the current opportunities and challenges of recruiting skilled workers. We are soliciting feedback from a variety of stakeholders. The more data that is collected, the richer and more informed the campaign will be.
The survey only takes 7 to 10 minutes; please consider contributing to this effort.
An Unsolicited Commencement Speech
Delivered at the Height of the Plague
It’s been an unusual ending to the school year to say the least. COVID has taken away graduation ceremonies and parties, as graduating seniors head into the next chapter of their life. For those heading off to trade school or working on developing a skill, we wanted to share this commencement speech from Mike Rowe.
For those who are still trying to figure out their next step, consider visiting Mike Rowe WORKS Foundation. It contains information on the skilled trades, jobs, and scholarship opportunities.