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SER celebrated with a gala featuring a silent auction, dinner, inspirational speakers, and live music where they raised over $365,000 in support of their life-changing workforce development services.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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The following article originally appeared in the November newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC for the purpose of providing the latest leading indicators and industry issues to those clients. Reprinted with permission.As the year comes closer to an end, and the downturn becomes more prevalent, a more common projection of 2017/2018 for recovery continues to emerge. However, Houston will not be lifeless over the next few years, but rather a slower, normal pace, that may give contractors the breathing room they needed after 2014’s frenetic pace.City of Houston permits show residential permitting down nearly 10% from a year ago, which tracks with Metrostudy’s projection of 2015 starts being down 10% from 2014 at year end. Even with a 10% decline, Houston’s single family market is easily still the leader in US, and has the tightest supply of lots of the major Texas metros, making it very difficult for Houston to oversupply lots going forward. The Grand Parkway, particularly south of the Westpark Tollway, has remained the strongest area, with Northeast Houston also showing strength in part due to the downstream activity and the Generation Park development. Looking ahead, onerous new closing regulations, lot shortages, higher labor costs, financing difficulties and home affordability are all challenges that point toward a decline into 2015 and 2016 before a recovery is expected.
November 06, 2015
The industrial construction renaissance underway along the Texas Gulf Coast brings all sorts of workforce challenges – and educators and industry leaders are working overtime to meet them head on. Construction Citizen’s team recently traveled to Lake Jackson to check out programs offered at Brazosport College, where they’re stepping up to meet the demands of an estimated $25 billion in industrial construction projects in southern Brazoria County over the next few years.You read that right: $25 billion in industrial construction is expected in just the southern portion of this geographically isolated county in the next several years.Anne Bartlett, Brazosport’s Vice President of Industry and Community Resources, holds a unique position. She is able to cobble together multiple funding streams to make it possible for students to enter the workforce quickly with needed skills. “We're taking folks who've been on welfare and now they have this awesome job,” Bartlett said with pride. “It's a life transformational thing that is helping our community as a whole because we're putting more people into the situation where they can be good citizens.”
November 05, 2015
Craft shortages continue to be a boon for experienced workers who are commanding top pay for their high-demand skills. On the other hand, rising wages in a shortage environment tend to benefit unskilled workers also, and employers are too often paying premium wages for insufficient training and lower productivity. Why? Because bodies are needed and employers must compete for every craft worker.The Engineering News-Record article titled Craft Pay Ramps Up As Worker Gaps Grow (October 2015), points out that as construction spending increases toward pre-recession peaks, worker pay is following suit, and some employers are seeing the largest pay escalation in decades. In fact, the Construction Labor Market Analyzer (CLMA) projects wage and per diem escalation of 2-4% over the next few years with the most highly skilled crafts expected to grow at the greatest rates.
November 04, 2015
Hi there. The Chamberlin Man here.There are many things for an owner to consider and calculate when redeveloping a real estate asset. Should it be torn down for something sleek and new? Should it be renovated or possibly repurposed? One client was considering those same options with their Art Deco 1960s office development that was significantly lacking curb appeal. Removing it altogether and building something new was definitely on the table; however, taking into consideration its location, architectural significance and market potential, demolition was not the most desirable or economical alternative.3701 Kirby, a 12-story office building and 3801 Kirby, which is seven-stories, are located in Houston’s Greenway Plaza district just north of Interstate 59. Many tenants hang their hat here including oil and gas companies, law offices and design and architectural shops.
November 03, 2015
Spending accelerates in September but fewer metros and states add jobs than in AugustEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction spending in September reached a seven-year high of $1.094 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 0.6% higher than the August rate and 14% higher than a year before, the Census Bureau reported today. The year-over-year growth rate was the fastest since January 2006. Year-over-year growth was widespread, but monthly declines for private nonresidential construction may signal contractors' difficulty finding enough workers with the right skills or new caution on the part of investors and owners. Private nonresidential spending slid 0.7% for the month but increased 15% over 12 months; private residential climbed 1.9% and 17%, respectively; and public construction, 0.7% and 9.4%.
November 02, 2015
It was great to see the Houston Business Journal this week take note of the great work being done by the Construction Career Collaborative (C3) in Houston. Writing for the Houston Business Journal, Roxanna Asgarian said:“The construction industry in Houston, and nationally, has long struggled to bring in enough new workers to maintain its skilled workforce."A number of Houston organizations have begun the long and difficult process to change that. Chuck Gremillion is the executive director of Construction Career Collaborative, or C3. He's tasked with making the profession safer and more attractive to new workers."Asgarian described some of the challenges facing the industry, including the fact that the workforce is made up mainly of retiring Baby Boomers, which helps contribute to an unsustainable situation.There are other issues as well:"C3 has come up with standards for general contractors and subcontractors, including mandatory safety training, hourly wages instead of project-based pay, and workers' compensation insurance.
October 30, 2015
The scope of work on the books for the next 10 years for the Texas Gulf Coast is unprecedented. If manpower cannot be secured at competitive rates, it is quite likely these plants won't be built or the projects will be moved elsewhere.
October 29, 2015
Who's responsible for erasing America's shortage of skilled workers? That is the question posed by The Atlantic last month in a story on why our workforce suffers from unemployment and underemployment while businesses say there is a shortage of workers with the skills needed to fill thousands of jobs. October is Careers in Construction Month, so let’s talk specifics about who will build the communities of the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says we will need 1.6 million new construction workers by 2022. Already about four in five members of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) say there is a shortage of skilled labor, and a quarter of construction workers are expected to retire in the next ten years.That’s a big challenge, but ABC is making headway in attracting talented people to construction. Our members invest $1.1 billion annually in training – that’s billion with a “B”!
October 28, 2015
Houston-based contractor Halliburton is set to pay out millions of dollars to hundreds of employees in one of the largest settlements for unpaid overtime in the history of the Department of Labor. The government has given the contractor credit, however, for working in good faith to resolve the issue in a timely manner as soon as the problem was discovered during an internal audit.The company will pay $18.3 million to 1,016 employees. Halliburton has 70,000 employees, so this is a relatively small portion of its total workforce.In a statement issued to the Houston Chronicle, Susie McMichael with Halliburton said the company discovered during a self-audit that the workers had been denied overtime pay when they were actually entitled to it because of their employment status.
October 27, 2015
