Houston's Construction Career Collaborative (C3), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on the commercial construction industry in the Houston region, has made significant progress in the last two years. Today, we are an alliance of over 200 institutional owners, general and specialty contractors that have each embraced the principles that drive C3. Those principles include providing construction craft employees with financial security (hourly wage plus overtime), social security, workers’ compensation insurance, safety, and craft training. We are constantly working to attract new alliance members and C3 accredited companies. We need your help.You might ask, “What is C3's mission anyway?” C3's mission is to positively affect the issues facing the craft worker for the commercial construction industry in the Houston region. The goal of this alliance of contractors, specialty contractors, and owners is to create a highly trained career construction workforce for Houston for the 21st century. Evidence of that success will be a net gain in those jobs in our area and perhaps ultimately even beyond.For the long term, in the face of demographic shifts, lack of defined craft career road maps and clear education for those students looking for a career in the construction trades, and a current shortage of skilled workers, C3 members are understandably concerned about the sustainability of the Houston commercial construction craft workforce.
How do we fix a problem born from the business practice where a contractor must be the lowest bidder in order to win work? C3 offers an owner-driven strategy.
July 21, 2016
Now with 123 Accredited Employers, 47 Project Participants, four Certified Staffing Agencies, seven active projects (as well as three completed projects and more in the pipe) and eight owners who specify C3 participation in their contracts, Construction Career Collaborative is in a hiring mode. If you know of someone who has a passion for people and the well being of the commercial construction industry, please share the job description below with them.C3 Seeks to Fill Key PositionConstruction Career Collaborative (C3), an alliance of owners, contractors and specialty contractors whose purpose is to positively affect the issues facing the craft worker in the commercial construction industry, is seeking an energetic, talented individual with a passion for people.
June 08, 2016
Construction Career Collaborative (C3) and the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston hosted a town hall meeting for seven Contractors on April 11, 2016 at the offices of the Houston Chapter of Associated General Contractors to discuss the recent decision by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo for the Archdiocese to support the C3 initiative. Those in attendance included representatives from Arch-Con Construction, Axis Builders, Brookstone, Durotech, Humphries Construction, Paradigm Construction, Westfall Group, and Zenith Construction.The meeting featured opening remarks from Steve Faught, Director of Construction and Preventive Maintenance for the Archdiocese, who described the decision made by Cardinal DiNardo and its desired impact. Faught spoke of up to 10 archdiocesan projects, currently in the planning stages, which he hopes will become C3 projects. He also highlighted his hope that the cost impact of C3 projects for the Archdiocese will be minimal. To support this aspiration, Faught spoke of a large commercial office-building project, which was bid with C3 requirements and without them. Once the bids were totaled, the cost differential for the bids, which specified C3 criteria, was approximately 0.04% (four one hundredths of one percent) more than the bids without C3 requirements.
April 21, 2016
Construction Career Collaborative (C3) was the beneficiary of two big announcements last week by high profile, influential owners, which illustrate C3’s growing presence and impact in the Greater Houston region. The first came through the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston from His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, who declared that its projects would require C3 participation from this point forward. This is a huge win for C3 because the Archdiocese is one of the most active builders in the Houston region with as many as 10 new projects (all C3!) expected to begin in the near future.The second significant announcement came from the Greater Houston Partnership, which issued a press release stating that the construction of its new offices would require C3 participation. Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership stated, “Programs like C3 exemplify the approaches championed by UpSkill Houston.
March 09, 2016
As most readers of this blog are aware, the ultimate vision for C3 is the creation of a sustainable and credentialed craft workforce for the commercial construction industry. In short, commercial construction is not attracting young people in near enough numbers to replace those who are leaving it for reasons such as retirement. C3 was created to address this challenge, and we have begun to gain traction. As 2015 comes to a close, I would like to reflect on the progress that C3 has made and look forward to 2016.This year has seen C3 take marked strides forward in this long and complex journey. Among the highlights are the robust growth among its ranks of owners, contractors and specialty contractors, the addition of several new projects that specify C3 requirements in their project specifications, the hiring of Maria Aimone as C3 Operations Manager and the launch of the new C3 Training Database.
December 17, 2015
Recently, C3 Operations Manager, Maria Aimone, and I had the privilege of participating in the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Careers Expo held at the Pasadena Fairgrounds. Given that Maria and I do not have much experience with career fairs, we were not sure what to expect. However, we were very impressed! All totaled, there were 390 high school seniors from 12 different school districts and 24 high schools who participated, and many of these young people used the opportunity to investigate the many job opportunities available to them as they graduate high school and possibly enter the construction workforce.C3 passed out information regarding the wage scales of various craft trades in the construction industry compared to other jobs in different professions. We also distributed documentation that described the cost of a college education in Texas versus the income-earning opportunity available to an individual entering the construction craft workforce today.
November 20, 2015
With the support of a wide variety of companies and organizations from the construction industry, Construction Career Collaborative hosted 36 teams at its 5th annual golf tournament on a beautiful day at Sweetwater Country Club on Monday, September 21st. Players were treated to a box lunch prior to the noon shotgun start followed by a feast at the conclusion of the tournament that included chicken-fried chicken, blackened catfish, a variety of salads and vegetables, along with bread pudding for dessert. Each participant also received a black windshirt emblazoned with the red & white C3 logo on the chest with the logos of the three underwriting sponsors, Marek Family of Companies, McCarthy Building Companies and TD Industries, on the sleeves.Other supporters of the tournament included reception/dinner sponsors Camarata Masonry Systems and Slack & Company, along with beverage station sponsors J.M. Maly (who provided a variety of premium cigars for participants) and American Subcontractors Association Houston Chapter (who gave away a premium ice chest) and the Texas Construction Association.
October 01, 2015
If one thing is for certain, the Construction Career Collaborative (C3) and its message continue to resonate throughout the commercial building industry. That is not only my opinion, but the consensus opinion of the panelists and attendees following the inaugural C3 Town Hall meetings. These meetings, held June 30th and July 7th at the offices of the ABC and the AGC, respectively, addressed questions, misconceptions, challenges and successes of the industry-wide workforce effort.The candid conversations included the all too familiar refrains of “making a career in construction attractive again”; “eliminating improper employment practices”; and “the need to reintroduce craft training in all areas of construction”.
July 15, 2015
As many readers are aware, the Construction Career Collaborative, commonly known as C3, is growing steadily and is beginning to have an impact as it executes its owner-driven strategy to create a sustainable workforce for the commercial construction industry.The Collaborative recently achieved a huge strategic win with the addition of Hines to the list of C3 owners. The international real estate firm, which is headquartered in Houston, is a leading influencer in the design and construction community. Hines becomes the first C3 owner from the commercial development world to join our ranks; we look for more to follow. Current C3 owners include M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems and Texas Children’s Hospital.
June 24, 2015
