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A regional effort to bolster the ranks of women and people of color in the building trades gained a key backer after the city of Portland this week committed to supporting the Construction Career Pathways Project (C2P2) framework plan.

The city is among 16 municipalities and public agencies collaborating via an owner work group convened by Metro to devise a strategy for increasing career opportunities for traditionally underrepresented communities in the skilled construction workforce. The stakeholder group was convened in 2018 and met regularly through August 2019 to develop a framework plan that would create a consistent regional approach to recruit, train and retain a diverse workforce.

Now, after a phased process that has included conducting a workforce market study, engaging stakeholders, and drafting and finalizing the framework plan, officials are gathering endorsements from the agencies involved in the project in order to move into the final phase 鈥� implementation of the framework plan.

鈥�(That) is really where the rubber hits the road for us,鈥� said Raahi Reddy, director of Metro’s diversity, equity and inclusion program, before Portland City Council on Wednesday. 鈥淲e will work together with the agencies that have adopted this framework to coordinate our efforts and to make sure that we are holding ourselves and our projects accountable to the public.鈥�

The group has engaged with industry partners, including contractors, labor and apprenticeship groups and community organizations, to develop the framework and determine how best to effectively enact the plan. Other agencies that have so far adopted the plan include Metro, Multnomah County and Prosper Portland.

The framework plan consists of seven points public owners should integrate into their practices in order to make improvements in construction workforce equity. Among those are setting minimum workforce participation goals based on a percentage of work hours performed on a project 鈥� including 20 percent by apprentices, 14 percent by women, and 25 percent by people of color 鈥� as well as implementing jobsite anti-harassment and culture change strategies, utilizing software to track progress on goals, and committing funds to increase diversity.

An accompanying tool kit provides further details and guidance for public owners in implementing the points recommended in the framework plan.

In signing the framework plan, the city is committing to continuing to collaborate with the stakeholder group and aligning with the minimum workforce participation goals over the course of a seven-year ramp-up period.