Over 150,000 tradespeople contribute to New York's infrastructure. Countless more maintain, repair, and construct the infrastructure nationwide. In celebration and recognition of this vital workforce and the critical role they have in shaping our future, DEWALT hosted 100 skilled workers at the October 20 Eagles game at MetLife Stadium. The company donated $100,000 to Construction Skills, an organization dedicated to vocational training and reskilling. Tradespeople joined captains from the Giants and DEWALT executives for the coin toss, representing the partnership between the builders of the stadium and the players. DEWALT also distributed 25,000 rally towels before kickoff to commemorate the centennial anniversaries of DEWALT and the Giants.
ForConstructionPos.com connected with Jon Howland, Director of Trade and End User Marketing at DEWALT for more information.
Q. How has Construction Skills affected the construction industry?
The Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills (CSKILLS) is an Apprenticeship Readiness Program (ARP) that opens the door for New York City residents seeking entry into the unionized building and construction trades. CSKILLS provides Direct Entry access to careers that offer middle-class wages, health benefits, and retirement security. Since 2001, thousands of workers have accessed the unionized construction industry through CSKILLS.
Q. What will the DEWALT donation go toward?
DEWALT
Q. What is the state of skilled trade employment today? (Nationally? In New York?)
Nationally and in New York, there is an enormous gap between the amount of infrastructure that needs to be built and improved and the skilled trade workers who are fit for the task. As the country continues building critical infrastructure, we are in dire need of more skilled tradespeople. But there’s cause for hope. More young people are increasingly turning to the trades to kickstart fulfilling careers in lieu of a four-year degree. In fact, we're now seeing extensive waiting lists for trade programs. In a recent DEWALT survey of high schoolers enrolled in skilled trades programs, we found 52% of students reported they were on a waitlist. With the right training and guidance, those young people are poised to have an essential role in our country’s infrastructure and economy.
Q. Other than training programs, how have you seen the industry address the challenge?
In addition to skilling, reskilling, and upskilling training programs, the industry has also made inroads in recruiting talent by engaging with them in thoughtful and different ways. Take for example a recent event DEWALT held in honor of National Apprenticeship Week (Nov 20-21), where we hosted 150+ pre-apprentices from technical schools in Baltimore and Philadelphia to inspire and educate them about career opportunities in the trades. Attending students and their instructors had the opportunity to interact with industry leaders through an expert career panel discussion, tour DEWALT’s research and development labs where engineers were building cutting edge tools and technology, and see firsthand product demonstrations featuring the latest innovations like the new DEWALT POWERSHIFT™ system. Events like this aim to help young attendees learn more about incredible opportunities and career paths in the trades and the resources available to support them.
Q. How have you seen modern technology help in today’s construction trades?
Modern technology has completely transformed the construction industry, improving efficiency, safety, profitability, and productivity to the benefit of workers, businesses, and the public. New building modeling technology has improved collaboration among construction professionals. A litany of innovations in the field have reduced costs, reduced errors and safety issues, and nurtured more on-site productivity. Furthermore, the need for increased EV, Data Centers, Chip Plants, etc. has caused an incredible amount of opportunities for the trades as the most-skilled trade professionals are building those buildings and supporting infrastructure.
