NCCER Welcomes Research Department Director

NCCER announces the appointment of Tim Taylor, P.E, Ph.D., to director of research. The research department aims to bring more awareness and prestige to construction craft careers by establishing NCCER as the source for research on the industry workforce.

Having previous experience working alongside NCCER, Taylor is an excellent choice to launch this new department. He had a leadership role in the industry-driven research team led by NCCER and the Construction Industry Institute, which resulted in the publishing of “Restoring the Dignity of Work: Transforming the U.S. Workforce Development System into a World Leader.” In addition, he has presented the policies advocated in this document at various conferences.

“We are extremely excited to have a long-term friend on board to drive us in the research arena and to truly help NCCER continue its mission of improving the workforce development issues that face the construction industry,” said NCCER president and CEO Boyd Worsham.

Most recently, Taylor served as the chair of Construction Engineering and Project Management in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky. There, he led more than $2.8 million in research volume from funding agencies and won research awards such at the Best Paper award for “Young Talent Motivations to Pursue Craft Careers in Construction” from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In addition to academia, he has extensive industry experience. He started his career in the industry at R.B. Taylor & Sons, his family business dating to the 1930s. At Luminant, formerly TXU Mining Company, Taylor worked in several positions including construction engineer.

This new role and department added to NCCER is essential to its mission to build a safe, productive and sustainable workforce of craft professionals, as well as expanding its comprehensive workforce development system and curricula selection.