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 On April 16, 2007, the Construction Careers Initiative group, in conjunction with Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative (GCWDI), a partnership of public and private organizations that are taking steps to rebuild the Gulf Coast after the 2005 hurricane, launched its first Basic Training for Craft Professionals’ pilot class for seventeen students from the Greater Houston area. The Construction Careers Initiative (CCI) is a program orchestrated by a group of local construction trade associations and not-for-profits including Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston, Construction & Maintenance Education Foundation, Houston Business Roundtable, the Worksource and several others. The goal of the group is to promote construction as a viable career choice to those who are either unemployed, underemployed or high school graduates looking to begin a career in construction.
In an effort to thwart a critical craft worker shortage, caused by a rare combination of short and long term circumstances, including compensation/benefits shortcomings and an economic boom over the last several years, the associations and training entities banded together and formed the CCI group which met to devise a solution to the shortage and educate the public about the careers available in the construction field.
The group, with the assistance of the GCWDI, developed brochures, paycheck stuffers, posters and other marketing tools to begin a soft program roll out aimed at getting the message out to prospective trainees through those who are already working in the industry. The “friends and family” campaign netted the seventeen candidates who are now enrolled in the two week training program. The students will be monitored from their education process all the way through the hiring process. The CCI group will also monitor their success and progress as they begin their new careers.
A secondary roll of the CCI group is to assist in finding employers for the candidates who successfully complete the basic training class. The group emerging from the pilot program will be introduced at the upcoming Construction Expo held at the Pasadena Fairgrounds Campbell Hall on April 26, 2007, where they will be available for interview by prospective employers.
The next step for the CCI group is to expand the program, eventually recruiting 100 students each month into the training program at several Houston area colleges and training facilities. The program will be monitored throughout the summer and will provide the basis to apply for grant funds to further expand and promote the program. To learn more about the CCI group and the training program, please visit http://www.abchouston.org/ or make plans to attend the April 26th Construction Expo at the Pasadena Fairgrounds Campbell Hall from 7:30am-1:30pm.
To learn more about the Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative (GCWDI), please visit www.imgreat.org or call the call center number: 888-52-GREAT (888-524-7328).</p>
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