CIS Provides Experts to Help with Development of SCOAR Mentoring Guide
Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS, continues her work with Southeastern Construction Owners & Associates Roundtable (SCOAR) as Chair of the Workforce Development Committee. Its newest project is the development of a Craft Professionals Mentoring Guide, which Ray Rice, Business Development Manager for CIS, is working on with a Mentoring Sub-Committee.
The skilled labor shortage is a well-known challenge faced by the construction industry. Dodge & Data Analytics reports that 37% of contractors turn down opportunities for work due to a shortage of skilled workers.
“The process of recruiting, engaging, and training is complex,” said Dickinson. TradeUp, a collaborative partnership program providing workforce development services, reports: “To get just one person from a high school or jobs program to a journey level skilled tradesperson takes four years and an average of eight organizations.”
SCOAR’s mentoring sub-committee seeks to create a best practice guide for employers to help them establish formal mentoring programs. A draft of the guide will be released by the Mentoring Sub-Committee at the Fall SCOAR meeting in October.
“We hope this guide will help to simplify the process of nurturing an individual on their career path by providing construction industry leaders with effective mentoring strategies in the midst of today’s workforce challenges,” said Dickinson.
Other members of the Mentoring Sub-Committee include Darryl Thornton, Business Development Manager for GRAYCOR Southern, Inc., Robert Canino, V.P. National Sales & Business Development Manager for BRACE Industrial Group, Lamar Blanton, National Industrial Account Manager for Trades Masters, and Dan Belcher, Director of Strategic Partnerships for NCCER.
