Our workers need to stay up to date with new technologies - by Karl Hudson

The middle of summer isn’t usually a time when we think a lot about school, but as the construction industry becomes ever-more sophisticated, education and training can never be far from our minds. Whether it’s tradespeople or office employees, our workers need to stay up to date with new technologies and other evolving processes.

ABC’s Gould Construction Institute (GCI) can be just the resource you need to keep your employees on the cutting edge. The Gould offers construction training to educate current workers and develop the next generation of trained craftspeople. To get a sense of some of the benefits GCI can provide for your company, I urge you to go online and check their training calendar to see what’s coming up.

Training promotes excellence. You may not have known that our chapter produced the best pipefitter in the country for 2019. Fresh off DECCO employee Sean O’Dowd’s first-place finish at the National ABC Craft Competition, ABC Massachusetts and GCI are seeking to expand the chapter’s participation in this exciting national “best of the best” contest.  The craft competition is an annual showcase for apprentices and craft students employed by ABC members across the country. Winners of local chapter competitions compete on the national stage at this annual event held during the national ABC convention, which will be held next March 24-28 in Nashville.

To increase our participation at the competition in 2019 and beyond, we are creating a local Craft Competition Committee. We’re looking for interested ABC members to join the committee and help us take our Massachusetts competition to the next level. This is a great opportunity to showcase the talent in our local merit shop industry and spur the development of your apprentices and students.

Finally, another part of achieving excellence is giving back. One of the impacts of a booming industry is that GCI is shattering enrollment records. To keep up with demand, we need more instructors. If you know someone who holds a Massachusetts Journeyman or Master’s license, contact GCI president Julie Kelliher at julie@gwgci.org, or education director Diane Craven at diane@gwgci.org to learn more about how you can earn $300 for referring an instructor. Both can also be reached at 781-270-9990.

Enjoy the summer! But prepare now so your company can hit the ground running this fall with a trained workforce that will sharpen your competitive edge.

Karl Hudson is the chairman of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.-Mass. Chapter, Woburn and is vice president of L.C. Anderson, Inc., Brighton, Mass.