Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston (ABC), an association representing the interests of merit shop contractors and their employees, has taken a proactive approach to the current COVID-19 climate and is reshaping its safety, management, and professional development training into virtual opportunities, with the aid of an $8,500 grant from the national ABC Trimmer Educational Fund.
As the adage goes, “the show must go on”, so must training and education in the construction industry. With the advent of COVID-19 and the many calls and orders to take quarantine actions, many organizations have been left wondering how to continue with business as usual. Operations may never get back to what was ‘usual’ pre-coronavirus. To remain relevant, organizations must change and be fluid to accommodate new needs and new circumstances.
“This educational grant will allow Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston to provide virtual education programs with live instructors so that contractors can continue to meet the educational needs of their employees,” says Jennifer Woodruff, ABC Greater Houston Vice President of Operations. “This grant will allow ABC to provide virtual classes for leadership development, safety training, project management, and more.”
Virtual training will begin in May and include with topics including, Troubled Projects: Recognition, Recovery and Resolution, 10-Hour and 30-Hour OSHA for construction in both English and Spanish, and numerous leadership and professional development classes.
“We strive to provide relevant information to our member contractors as well as the industry in general,” says Russell Hamley, ABC Greater Houston President. “While our role may shift slightly due to COVID-19 and economic recovery, our focus will remain the same – to provide reliable and timely information to the industry, to be an advocate for the merit shop contractor on local, state and national levels, and to provide education and workforce development initiatives as our economy recovers. One such example of how ABC is working for the local construction industry was the work we did to have construction deemed an essential business in Houston.”
Only time will tell if “business as usual” will ever resume but the show will go for construction as an essential business. To learn more about ABC and its virtual training opportunities, visit the website at www.abchouston.org.
Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston (ABC), an association representing the interests of merit shop contractors and their employees, has taken a proactive approach to the current COVID-19 climate and is reshaping its safety, management, and professional development training into virtual opportunities, with the aid of a $8,500 grant from the national ABC Trimmer Educational Fund.
As the adage goes, “the show must go on”, so must training and education in the construction industry. With the advent of COVID-19 and the many calls and orders to take quarantine actions, many organizations have been left wondering how to continue with business as usual. Operations may never get back to what was ‘usual’ pre-coronavirus. To remain relevant, organizations must change and be fluid to accommodate new needs and new circumstances.
“This educational grant will allow Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston to provide virtual education programs with live instructors so that contractors can continue to meet the educational needs of their employees,” says Jennifer Woodruff, ABC Greater Houston Vice President of Operations. “This grant will allow ABC to provide virtual classes for leadership development, safety training, project management, and more.”
Virtual training will begin in May and include with topics including, Troubled Projects: Recognition, Recovery and Resolution, 10-Hour and 30-Hour OSHA for construction in both English and Spanish, and numerous leadership and professional development classes.
“We strive to provide relevant information to our member contractors as well as the industry in general,” says Russell Hamley, ABC Greater Houston President. “While our role may shift slightly due to COVID-19 and economic recovery, our focus will remain the same – to provide reliable and timely information to the industry, to be an advocate for the merit shop contractor on local, state and national levels, and to provide education and workforce development initiatives as our economy recovers. One such example of how ABC is working for the local construction industry was the work we did to have construction deemed an essential business in Houston.”
Only time will tell if “business as usual” will ever resume but the show will go for construction as an essential business. To learn more about ABC and its virtual training opportunities, visit the website at www.abchouston.org.
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association representing more than 21,000 members nationwide. Locally, ABC Greater Houston was founded in 1969, and today serves several hundred commercial and industrial contractors, suppliers, and construction associates in the Greater Houston area. Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston represents the interests of merit shop contractors and its employees in the policymaking process of the government, protects and enhances the free enterprise system within the construction industry, and provides educational, marketing, and informational programs for the benefit of members and their employees.
