Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/619545
AGGREGATES MANAGER / January 2016 5 A s part of our annual forecast survey (see page 14), we ask producers which issues pose the greatest challenge. Over the last two years, find- ing and retaining workers has re-emerged as a top concern; 63 percent of this year's survey respondents said it was a challenge. This was a 13-per- cent increase over last year's survey and represents a sign that, for many producers, business is on the upswing. Having reviewed the results of our survey, I was quite pleased to see that one producer, Graniterock, is taking a creative approach to finding workers. In a company newsletter, Henry Ramirez, vice president of aggregate division operations, notes that finding the next generation of skilled workers is high on the list of priorities for him and his local peers. "While it may seem counter-intuitive that an industry that laid off thousands of workers during the Great Recession now faces a talent shortage, the predicament is real," Ramirez says. "Today, in our region, hundreds more construction craft workers are retiring each year than are entering the workforce." One of the reasons for the shortage is that many public vocational and technical education programs have been dismantled or underfunded, he says. Unions, local governments, and educational institutions have also failed to design an effective solu- tion. So, Graniterock has launched The Construction Academy. Ramirez says that Graniterock partnered with two California high schools, Wat- sonville High School and James Lick High School, to introduce a construction-focused education program to more than 50 students. "The purpose of The Construction Academy program is to develop a set of local, young adults who can become a part of the Graniterock workforce (or the local con- struction workforce) after either their graduation from high school, community col- lege, or a university," he says. "In addition, we hope The Construction Academy more broadly introduces to a generation of young adults the potential career opportunities in the heavy civil construction and construction materials industries." To date, students have visited heavy civil construction job sites, have discussed education and career paths with construction professionals, and have been intro- duced to job opportunities available in the mining and materials research fields. In the future, they will tour ready-mix, asphalt, and recycling plants, learn how to es- timate projects, and see concrete and asphalt work performed at their local schools, according to estimates and plans they've developed. While Graniterock has long been an industry leader in partnering with local schools to improve educational opportunities, The Construction Academy takes its ex- isting programs to a new level. I look forward to hearing about how effective it is in developing the company's next generation of workers. January 2016 Vol. 21, No. 1 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Bobby Atkinson editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Russell McEwen Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. 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(See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Creative Problem Solving by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com EDITORIAL