Olympic Region Construction & Building Partnership

The Olympic Region Construction & Building Partnership is a network of construction and related companies in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties, launched in October 2016 with the support of county home builders associations, and staffing from the Olympic Workforce Development Council.

Partnership Purpose:

  • To jointly create an agenda that supports the stability and growth of the Construction and building industry in the Olympic region;
  • To commit to coordinated action and implementation of shared, high priority areas by public and private sector partners.
  • To create a forum for the region’s construction and trades industry for consistent, high quality connections, networking, information and idea sharing.

2017 Action Plan

committee: market Construction careers

Committee Members:

Kelly Fox, Lumber Trader; Chad Lyons, Lyons Painting & Design; Bob Little, G. Little Construction; Kevin Ryan, Tim Ryan Construction; Jordan Eades, Hope Roofingwith support from Theresa Osinski, KBA; LizAnne Coker, JCHBA; Diana Johnson, NPBA.

Original Intent (from Partnership’s first meeting Oct 2016)

  • Design and launch an intergenerational campaign:
  • Understand millennials – “stop trashing millennials”; quit lecturing, start listening
  • Target in-school youth, start young: engage, communicate, push the trades in K-12
  • Get to the parents, teachers and counselors
  • Create targeted messaging that creates excitement and appeal
  • Integrate real stories – instill pride in this work and these jobs
  • Emphasize $$$ -- financial advantages/earning potential of the Trades vs. other jobs
  • Create a Career Map (specific occupations, salary potential, jobs here at home, and how to get there via training/education programs here)

2017 Actions:

  1. Inventory existing marketing materials available – What shows best the real opportunities, clear choices to make, and economic value of this work? What can be used or re-purposed? How do we package it?
  2. Create a calendar of targeted outreach opportunities, and get industry leaders to sign up.

-Target K-12:

  1. Decision-makers (School Boards);
  2. Influencers (Counselors);
  3. Students themselves (5th-8th Grade sill in building mindset + Juniors/Seniors looking for what’s next

-Target Parents: Home Show Season+ Brewery Tour

-Target those already enrolled in relevant programs: West Sound Academy, colleges, trade schools

  1. Create Community-based Construction Clubs – longer term

-Do the research: What would it take? How to get around liability/legislative barriers?

-Look into other models making it work: Skills USA, School-based Habitat for Humanity, Revitalize program (Clallam), others?

Committee: Define specific training needs

Committee Members: Bob Little, G. Little Construction; Kelly Fox, Lumber Trader; Miriam Villiard, Heritage Builders NW; Wayne Keffer, WRK Construction Inc. with support from Theresa Osinski, KBA; LizAnne Coker, JCHBA.

Original Intent (from Partnership’s first meeting Oct 2016)

  • Add more support to skills training in all relevant trades in our region
  • More support for Career & Technical Education and vocational education (make it a “core class”)
  • Industry must partner with educators to offer 5-6 courses with hands-on aspects to prepare workers to enter basic construction trades
  • Facilitate ongoing two-way information sharing: 1) Get the right information from construction and related companies about foundational skill sets in-demand; 2) Provide industry partners with an understanding of existing programs and curriculum, and 3) together find ways to integrate foundational and soft skills into existing programs.

Actions:

  1. Inventory the existing education and training programs in our region – keep it updated. How do we share it, make it useable/accessible?

-Identify 2-3 training programs to replicate/scale up (e.g. Future Builders Program); do the research on how good programs overcome barriers to hands-on training

-Identify what CAN be done even within current contraints

  1. Define the Foundational skills sets needed to be successful: actual tool usage (hammers, skillsaws, etc) + how to read blueprints + basic framing + applied construction math + project management + others

-Ask a critical mass of companies: What observations do you find yourself repeatedly making about your workers related to basic/foundational skills (e.g. why are they doing X that way, not this way?) – survey? Facilitated focus group/skill panel?

-This information becomes basis for needed skills/curriculum on a track from middle school to high school and beyond (including dual enrollment mechanisms)

  1. Define construction-related “soft skills’ or criteria specific to being successful on jobsites (commitment and persistence even when it’s cold and wet outside; team work; individual responsibility, critical thinking – what does it look like to be in a building mindset?)

-Ask a critical mass of companies: What questions do you ask to assess right fit of new hires? How do you know? What do you look for? Can you discern natural interests/abilities? Certain types of individuals that are a best fit (athletes, vets, outdoorsy?) – Is this a survey? Facilitated focus group/skill panel?

-This information becomes basis for job readiness curriculum to be integrated into existing programs (K-12, college, trade, etc). It can also become a pre-assessment tool for students: Is Construction & Building right for you?

strengthen business-to-business connections

Committee Members: Kelly Fox, Lumber Trader; Ivi Gabales, Rice Rergus Miller

Original Intent

  • This Committee is about networking and biz-to-biz connections around best practices andshared tools.
  • Emphasize regional (across the 3 counties) focus, and local businesses as suppliers, buyers, partners in a regional network.
  • Partner with technology firms to help contractors automate processes and simplify tasks.

Actions:

  1. Early Win: Design and send out a short survey focused on technologies and tools construction and building companies currently use, or are looking for (e.g. Simple Verity, Faster Bids, etc).

Survey link:

  1. Use HBAs and EDCs to distribute the survey. Share results broadly with the Partnership.

Access to affordable workforce housing

Committee members: Ivi Gabales, Rice Fergus Miller; Terri Ward, Warren Enterprises with support from LizAnne Coker, JCHBA.

Original Intent

  • There are untapped skilled tradesmen and builders in our area, but they cannot find affordable housing.
  • Need focused county-by-county development cooperation and a business model that incentivizes affordable housing units.

Actions:

  1. Each of us in our respective counties to secure county maps of "red" and "green" zones for potential affordable housing development. Use to help recruit additional support.
  2. We agree this topic must be handled via individual county conversations (e.g. Terri and Liz tackling Jefferson County), but that finding a way for the 3-county Construction Partnership to throw its weight behind the cause is worthwhile.
  3. Quick national research to find talking points/case studies that help make the case to the public/officials for affordable housing.
  4. Identify groups already talking about or meeting on the issue of Affordable housing in each county, and find ways to connect and add value.

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Olympic Region Construction Partnership Action Plan – Revised January 25, 2017