Construction Reality Show Seeks to Close Income Gap

The Percy Jobs & Careers Center launched Master Craftsmen, an online reality show, featuring craftsmen who use their skills and specialized knowledge to build today’s modern infrastructure. The show is designed to reestablish the skilled trades as an opportunity to move up the income ladder and comes at a time when skills are responsible for the growing disparity in income. Those with skills earn a lot and those without, according to some estimates, earn in real dollars what an unskilled worker did in 1973. “Globalization and technology have fostered high levels of income inequality and the unskilled worker has suffered most,” … Read more

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How to Improve Employee Retention through Mentorship

By Ryan Van Dyke In a society where work-life blending is becoming more common and people are seeking both personal and professional fulfillment in their career, the head-down, clock-punching workplace isn’t meeting employee needs anymore. Construction careers are especially precarious with both demand and the lack of skilled workers rising concurrently. With seemingly unlimited opportunities at the “jobsite next door” in today’s economic climate, employees who feel their skills are undervalued or are unhappy with their career trajectory are likely to leave with little risk. Many companies have worked to improve craftworker benefits to attract and retain top talent – … Read more

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Women Builders Council Celebrates 15th Annual Champion Awards

Women Builders Council recently celebrated its 15th Annual Champion Awards Dinner in New York. As a leading association for women in the building trades, Women Builder Council’s annual event featured over 600 guests and recognized 165 outstanding and next-generation women builders for the important role they play in building New York’s evolving skyline. Among those honored at the awards dinner, Corryn Darling of Hudson Meridian was recognized in WBC’s Next Generation of Women Builders category. An honor reserved for those 35 and under, Darling has demonstrated the highest caliber of leadership, interest in the industry and career promise. Jackie Vinceslao, … Read more

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Celebrating Jay Kinder, Founder and President of Strong Man

Jay Kinder, founder, president and leader of the Strong Man family, passed away on June 24, with his wife, Elaine, by his side. The Kinders’ relationship flourished at both home and work, which led the two to grow Strong Man from their garage to the business it is today. “Jay has been my partner through it all, and his loss is the hardest thing I have ever faced,” said Elaine Kinder. “In all aspects of my life, both at home and in business, Jay has been my mentor. His ever-present kindness and respect for others is something I have always … Read more

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Clayco Subsidiary Lamar Johnson Collaborative Combines with BatesForum Architecture Firm

Lamar Johnson Collaborative, a subsidiary of constructor Clayco, will combine with Clayco-owned architecture firm BatesForum, creating one firm of more than 240 professionals in five offices with capabilities in integrated design and delivery. The expanded firm has expertise in commercial, residential, multi-use, interiors, healthcare, retail, planning, landscape, education and industrial architecture, as well as a strategy team which uses economic and ethnographic data to consult with clients on workplace trends and asset optimization. Among the firm’s capabilities are the Technical Assurance Group, which consults with project teams to apply lessons from the built environment to projects still on the drawing … Read more

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