{"id":76,"date":"2018-09-19T14:59:28","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T14:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.djcorprod.wpengine.com\/skilledmag\/?p=76"},"modified":"2018-09-24T12:26:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-24T12:26:21","slug":"another-bid-to-boost-workforce-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/2018\/09\/19\/another-bid-to-boost-workforce-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Another bid to boost workforce development"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Justin<\/a>

Justin Paterson, right, a Hoffman Construction project manager, speaks about his firm\u2019s role in the Multnomah County Courthouse project, as Benson Polytechnic High School career counselor Peggy Schoettle listens, during the annual Industry for a Day event. (Josh Kulla\/91ÊÓƵ)<\/p><\/div>\n

Workforce development has become a mantra in and around the building industry. It stems from an ongoing shortage of skilled workers in virtually every trade imaginable. Combine that with the red-hot Portland construction market, and it\u2019s a recipe for even bigger issues down the road if left uncorrected.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where events like Industry for a Day<\/strong><\/a>, held last week, come into play. Portland nonprofit All Hands Raised<\/strong><\/a> started the event as a broad strategy to help local educators guide young people into the many opportunities in the trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal for today is to gain hands-on experience in these construction and manufacturing jobs so you can become a stronger advocate for our students and make them aware of those options,\u201d Emi Donis, an All Hands Raised board member, told more than 200 educators last week. \u201cYou can help them gain the tools to help them with what they\u2019re going to do after school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Industry for a Day is a collaboration involving All Hands Raised<\/strong>, East Metro STEAM Partnership<\/strong>, Impact NW<\/strong>, Portland Metro STEM Partnership<\/strong> and Worksystems Inc.<\/strong> The third annual event was held April 26 at the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute<\/strong> facility in Northeast Portland and at the job sites or factories of 38 participating construction and manufacturing partners such as Hoffman Construction<\/strong> and Boeing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Following a large breakfast session, smaller groups of educators broke off from the main event to visit job sites around the region. Regardless of size or trade, all participating businesses have one crucial thing in common: they can\u2019t find enough skilled employees to fill all their positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an older workforce out there; you see it reflected in a lot of places,\u201d said Hoffman Construction project manager Justin Paterson, who led a tour of the Multnomah County Courthouse<\/strong> project site in downtown Portland. \u201cThere are lots of reasons to get the workforce addressing those issues, not the least of which is a lot of people are ready to retire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contractors have even taken to trying to lure retirees back to work, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost an insatiable need right now,” he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not likely to change either. The Oregon Employment Department<\/strong> estimates that more than 30,000 construction and manufacturing jobs will be added in the Portland area over the next decade. This comes on top of an anticipated wave of retirements by baby boomers.<\/p>\n

Making things worse is an ongoing lack of vocational and technical education in public schools. This has been the case for two generations as schools have focused on the college pathway at the expense of the trades. The result is that jobs sit unfilled as contractors scramble to find needed labor.<\/p>\n

Groups like All Hands Raised are left to step up and provide pathways for young people. Even with professional training centers such as the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute running full tilt to turn out apprentices, demand is not being met.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the stigma, and the lack of awareness among professional educators who don\u2019t know about this pathway, out of no fault of their own, they just don\u2019t know it,\u201d said Nate Waas Shull, vice president of partnerships for All Hands Raised. \u201cThe old perception of dirty jobs is still a problem. Even jobs that are still dirty, but also pay $100,000 a year, we still need to do them. So that\u2019s what this mission is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoffman Construction is the general contractor for the $315 million Multnomah County Courthouse project. Now 18 months into the four-year construction timeline, plenty of time remains for apprentices like Benjamin Gilmore, 20, to get a piece of the work. He is pursuing journeyman status with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48<\/strong> at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center<\/strong> in Northeast Portland.<\/p>\n

\"Benjamin<\/a>

Benjamin Gilmore is working as an apprentice electrician for Dynalectric while also attending classes at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center. (Josh Kulla\/91ÊÓƵ)<\/p><\/div>\n

Gilmore attended Benson Polytechnic High School<\/strong>, which offers a construction course. This, he told the Industry for a Day breakfast session attendees, gave him enough knowledge of the trades to spark a desire to pursue a career as an electrician.<\/p>\n

Now, just two years out of high school, Gilmore is already earning a solid living and has an internship with Precision Castparts<\/strong> under his belt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s right out of the gate, you\u2019re already making money and it\u2019s something you can build on,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cIt\u2019s a straight shot to having a successful life and a successful career.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why companies like Hoffman Construction work with groups like All Hands Raised, Portland YouthBuilders<\/strong>, Constructing Hope<\/strong>, Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.<\/strong> and many more to offer pre-apprenticeship programs for budding carpenters, glaziers, welders and other skilled workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely can be lifesaving; they can definitely turn your life around,\u201d said Rosa Gomez, who is currently an apprentice carpenter training at the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute.<\/p>\n

Gomez, while working mainly for Andersen Construction<\/strong> over the past year, has climbed the ladder to a job paying $24 an hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially if you come from a background where your family has always worked in low-paying jobs, you can actually help out your family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Industry for a Day Host Companies: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Boeing Portland<\/p>\n

Cascade Controls<\/p>\n

Charter Mechanical<\/p>\n

Daimler Trucks North America<\/p>\n

EC Electric<\/p>\n

Fortis Construction Inc.<\/p>\n

General Sheet Metal<\/p>\n

GrovTec US Inc.<\/p>\n

Hoffman Construction<\/p>\n

Imperial Brown<\/p>\n

Integrated Metals: Machine Tool Technology at Mt. Hood Community College<\/p>\n

Integrated Metals: Welding Technology at Mt. Hood Community College<\/p>\n

KCR Manufacturing<\/p>\n

LiUNA! Local 737<\/p>\n

Madden Fabrication<\/p>\n

McKenna Metal LLC<\/p>\n

Microchip Technology Inc.<\/p>\n

NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center<\/p>\n

Northwest College of Construction<\/p>\n

Nu-Tech Machining Inc.<\/p>\n

ON Semiconductor<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill Construction Group<\/p>\n

Oregon & SW Washington Mason Trades JATC<\/p>\n

Owens<\/p>\n

Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute<\/p>\n

Pacific Northwest Ironworkers Local #29 Training Center<\/p>\n

Pella Corporation \u2013 Portland operations<\/p>\n

Portland Community College \u2013 Swan Island Trades Center<\/p>\n

Portland General Electric<\/p>\n

PCC Structurals Inc.<\/p>\n

Premier Press<\/p>\n

Skanska USA Building<\/p>\n

Streimer Sheet Metal Works Inc.<\/p>\n

TCM Corp.<\/p>\n

Teeny Foods Corp.<\/p>\n

Turner Construction<\/p>\n

Wright Business Graphics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Workforce development has become a mantra in and around the building industry. It stems from an ongoing shortage of skilled workers in virtually every trade imaginable. Combine that with the red-hot Portland construction market, and it\u2019s a recipe for even bigger issues down the road if left uncorrected. That\u2019s where events like Industry for a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5138,"featured_media":162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18615],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcoregon.com\/skilledmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}