Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that he was going to propose a plan to Congress which would make “the first two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it.” He stated the importance of education not just for kids, but also to offer the opportunity for everybody to become better trained so that they could receive better jobs, wages, and benefits. During his annual State of the Union Address on January 20, he explained why he believes this plan is so important. He said, “To make sure folks keep earning higher wages down the road, we have to do more to help Americans upgrade their skills."
Brent Smith, PhD gave a stimulating presentation titled Managing Talent: Myths and Realities at the 2014 fall conference hosted by Kiley Advisors. Pat Kiley introduced the Rice University dean and professor with a mention of the companies who have hired Dr. Smith “to help them with talent development and leadership coaching” including ExxonMobil and other companies who are the “who’s who of the energy industry” as well as those from other industries such as Microsoft.
January 15, 2015
On November 12, the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) held a Workforce Development Summit as part of their UpSkill Houston initiative at which Joseph Fuller, Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School, was the luncheon keynote speaker. Gina Luna, GHP Vice Chairman and Chairman at JPMorgan Chase in Houston, introduced him to the gathered group of business leaders, educators, and representatives from community organizations.After some opening remarks, Mr. Fuller began the meat of his presentation by explaining why projects like UpSkill Houston are so crucial. He said,“Something good has to happen here, because this city, this state, the energy sector – and more importantly and more profoundly – the country is suffering from a wasting disease, and the waste is that we are not investing in the skills of young people or people who have been displaced from the workforce,
January 08, 2015
To demonstrate the capabilities of their heavy equipment, Caterpillar has created some clever “Built For It Trials” in which machines such as excavators and telehandlers perform various tasks just to prove that they can. Caterpillar truly lives up to their motto “when we play blocks, we play BIG” in their trial called “Stack.” Five pieces of caterpillar construction equipment play with an oversized Jenga-style game, removing the 600 pound blocks from the middle of the stack and placing them on the top. The highly skilled equipment operators displayed their talent as they placed each block with great finesse.
December 30, 2014
Last month the Greater Houston Partnership held a Workforce Development Summit as part of their UpSkill Houston initiative at which Joseph Fuller of the Harvard Business School was the luncheon keynote speaker. The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) launched UpSkill Houston earlier this year as a six-year, $6 million project aiming to close the gap between middle skills job openings – jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a degree from a four-year university – and the lack of qualified workers to fill these. Gathered business leaders, educators, and representatives from community organizations enjoyed lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom in the University of Houston Hilton Hotel while hearing his presentation U.S. Competitiveness: Building America’s Middle Skills.
December 23, 2014
At this year’s annual fall conference hosted by Kiley Advisors, two strategic questions were explored, presented by two distinguished guest speakers. The question “How long can this robust market last, and why?” was tackled by Adam W. Perdue, PhD in his presentation titled Is the Boom a Bubble? Following that presentation and discussion, Brent Smith, PhD tackled the question “How can we do a better job of attracting, retaining, and developing talent as we compete with the expanding and better-paying energy and industrial companies?” in his presentation titled Managing Talent: Myths and Realities.
December 16, 2014
The oil and gas boom created by fracking and other new technologies has sent the demand for new construction along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana through the roof. The impact of this surge in construction is being felt throughout the Midwest as well.The demand has outstripped the supply of qualified construction craft professionals, and that has affected new commercial and industrial construction projects. There is a growing shortage of skilled craft professionals needed to build the petrochemical plants, office buildings, warehouses, roads, and other projects spawned by the incredible growth in our regional economy – growth that is expected to continue into the next decade. To address these needs, Construction Citizen this week launched its newCraft Careers section and is expanding its editorial focus to include topics in industrial as well as in commercial construction.
November 13, 2014
On a sunny morning this spring, I stopped by the Brittmoore Field Office Trailer to visit with Roberto Sanchez, a project manager from Reytec Construction Resources, about a massive reconstruction project that they are working on. The project involves installing 5900 feet of new storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and water line underground along Brittmoore Road between Hammerly Road and Clay Road in Houston, Texas. The scale of the project is impressive. The diameter of the storm sewer alone begins at seven feet by four feet “boxes” and increases to eight by four feet openings.
June 25, 2014
Once when I was a kid, my parents had a truckload of dirt dumped onto our driveway. Their intent, and the eventual result, was that the dirt was to be used to level the low spots in our lawn. However, the immediate response to that glorious pile of dirt was that for a few weeks it became the greatest kid hangout on our block. The neighborhood kids brought over their toy cars and trucks (both Matchbox and Tonka), and together we built the most amazing “city” complete with roads, tunnels, and bridges.Now lucky kids and their parents will be able to drive and to dig with actual construction equipment at the first construction-themed amusement park to open in the United States. Diggerland USA is scheduled to open on Saturday, June 14 in the township of West Berlin, New Jersey, just a short drive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
May 30, 2014
Earlier this spring I attended an open house at the new Performance Verification Center in La Porte, Texas. The Center has been created by ABC Houston and the Construction and Maintenance Education Foundation (CMEF) to provide hands-on evaluation of craft performance skills by certified Performance Evaluators as part of the accreditation process of students and trainees.Glen O’Mary, Director of Education for the ABC/CMEF Performance Verification Center, joined the staff this February, but has been working in the construction and maintenance industry for 14 years, so he knows many of the people associated with this organization. He is excited to be a part of CMEF, which you can hear in the following 3-minute video interview. He says,“We need a trained and competent workforce. Everybody here is willing to get their hands dirty – literally – to support the cause and do this. We are providing a future for families and giving somebody a chance at a life that they may not have had an opportunity to have in the past. Why I am so close to this is it is helping people change their lives – to become something better. That’s why my heart is in it so much.”
May 23, 2014
