Transcript HBR Joint Member/Subscriber Breakfast

Workforce Development
Initiatives in Houston
October2006
Houston Business Roundtable
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Non-profit Business Association.
Organized in 1973 as an association of construction
users to be the Owner’s voice in the construction
industry.
The Mission of HBR is to develop, share and promote
best practices that improve industry performance in
areas of safety, health, environment, workforce skills,
work quality, productivity and costs.
26 Owner Member Companies – Including most of the
major refining and petrochemical companies in the
greater Houston area (including Texas City and Freeport
areas)
111 Subscribers – Including most of the major industrial
contractors
Workforce focus is on Contractor Craft Labor
Workforce Development in Houston
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Area Workload Projections
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Future Skill Shortages
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Workforce Development Resources in Houston
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CMEF Training Statistics
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Current Initiatives in Houston
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Future Plans and Ideas
Maintenance
Construction
Turn Arounds
Dec-07
Nov-07
Oct-07
Sep-07
Aug-07
Jul-07
Jun-07
May-07
Apr-07
Mar-07
Feb-07
Jan-07
Dec-06
Nov-06
Oct-06
Sep-06
Aug-06
Jul-06
Workers/Day
HBR Craft Labor Forecast
TOTAL WORKFORCE
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Dec-07
Nov-07
Oct-07
Sep-07
Aug-07
Jul-07
Jun-07
May-07
Apr-07
Mar-07
Feb-07
Jan-07
Dec-06
Nov-06
Oct-06
12000
Sep-06
Jan 06
Aug-06
Jul-06
Jun-06
Sep 04
May-06
Apr-06
18000
Mar-06
Feb-06
10000
Jan-06
Workers/Day
Forecast Comparison
23000
22000
21000
20000
19000
Jul 06
17000
16000
15000
14000
13000
Jul 05
11000
Jan 05
9000
8000
Future Workload Expectations
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HBR member company workload expected to be
high for next two years
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Golden Triangle Business Roundtable predicts the
need for 20,000 additional craft persons to build
Motiva and Valero refineries, LNG projects and
offshore work
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Eleven new power plant projects planned for East
Texas
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Recovery and rebuilding in hurricane impacted
areas has and will continue to draw some labor from
Houston
HBR Key Points of Agreement
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Voluntary Agreement recommending that Owners;
 Use Contractors that are committed to Workforce
Development. Pre-qualify and audit to verify.
 Endorse the NCCER/NCCCO skills programs.
 Require craft persons to become qualified through formal
or upgrade training, certified through written testing and
performance verified in the field or lab.
 Maintain >10% of all site craft positions for helper-trainees.
 Include six cents per hour for all site hours in all labor
contracts to support CMEF’s education and credentialing
programs.
 Apply the KPA to all Maintenance, Construction and
Turnaround work.
National Center for Construction
Education and Research (NCCER)
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NCCER is a non-profit education foundation that develops
and maintains industry driven standardized craft training
programs with portable credentials.
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28 different Craft Curriculums and Skills Assessment tests
(written) and 18 Craft Performance Verifications
(demonstration of skills).
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Houston Contractors played a major role in creating and
funding NCCER and supplying Subject Matter Experts for
program development.
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Board of Trustees include representatives from several
major Houston Contractors and Owner Companies,
including Fluor, KBR, Zachry, ExxonMobil and Shell
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Forty percent of all NCCER training and skills assessments
have been administered in the greater Houston area.
Construction/Maintenance
Education Foundation (CMEF)
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Created by HBR and ABC more than ten years ago,
replacing the former Merit Shop Trust.
Non-profit Education Foundation and the accredited
Training Sponsor of NCCER programs in Houston.
Collects and distributes funding and administers
formal and upgrade training and skills assessment
programs.
Audits all programs and submits records for NCCER
credentialing purposes.
Current Training &
Credentialing Programs
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Formal NCCER training for helper-trainees is available at
night at five area community colleges - Lee, San Jacinto North
& Central, Houston Community and College of the Mainland.
Upgrade training for journey-level craft workers available at
HASC or at Plant Sites large enough to justify
Written Skills Assessments administered at three Safety
Councils - HASC, TCCSC, ISTC Baytown and at CMEF Office
and on-site.
Performance Verifications completed at work sites with
Accredited Evaluator. PV Lab at Lee College has been
piloted for Electricians.
The goal is for all industrial craft persons to be trained and
become certified-plus, i.e., pass the written Skills Assessment
test and complete Performance Verification
CMEF Statistics
Craft and Apprenticeship
College Training Units
Commercial
Industrial
Total
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
*2006
388
237
206
173
149
137
1419
1473
1638
1760
1224
1588
1807
1710
1844
1933
1373
1725
1455
1700
4709
1800
2381
2198
487
778
2220
735
1061
1193
Skill Assessments
Administered
Certified Written (Passed)
*Estimate
CMEF Statistics
Upgrade Training
OCF – Onsite
OFCF – Offsite (HASC)
2001 2002 2003
130
2004 2005
*2006
152
215
75
145
12
167
173
48
Basic Training for Future Craft
Professionals
75
Performance Verifications
Performance Verified
50
662
450
324
Certified Plus
42
522
383
268
*Estimate
CMEF Statistics
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 *2006
Other Programs/
Electrical 4 hr. CE Course
Graduation
63
57
303
445
46
66
83
53
CMEF/HBR Scholarship
15
23
61
25
High School Scholarship
6
28
56
86
*Estimate
New Initiative - Basic Training for Future Craft
Professionals
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Brings new recruits into construction and maintenance and provides
accelerated initial basic training, including NCCER’s core modules
(including soft skills), basic safety orientation, introduction to craft
specific tasks and a formal mentoring program.
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Owners coordinate with site Contractors and commit to placing new
recruits on site in a helper-trainee position expected to last one year.
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Contractors recruit qualified candidates for specific crafts, screen and
hire prior to starting training and assign experienced person to mentor
new recruit on site.
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Candidates attend two week, eight hour per day, Basic Training class
and commit to continuing their craft training at a community college.
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Mentors meet with assigned trainee and receives day of training.
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Trainees are mentored and progress monitored for one year.
Basic Training for Future Craft Professionals
Participating Contractors – Owners to Date
Amber LP
Austin Industrial
Contech
ISC
Jacobs Field Services
KBR
LWL
Protherm Services
Turner Industries
Zachry Construction
Bayer
DuPont
ExxonMobil
Houston Refining
Lyondell
Rohm & Haas
Shell
Basic Training Trainees
Basic Training for Future Craft Professionals
June Pilot Class
 23 of the original 27 Candidates are on the job
and attending craft training classes.
August Class
 28 of the original 28 Candidates completed
training and all but one are currently working on
sites and attending craft training classes.
Future Plans
 Class scheduled for Nov 27 – Dec 8
 May expand to other colleges and hold classes
more frequently
August Basic Training Class
Texas Workforce Commission Grant
HBR and CMEF initiated a Skills
Development Fund Grant through Lee
College for $780,279 and was approved
for 18 months starting in September
 Grant will focus on craft training of
incumbent workers and performance
verification
 Will allow CMEF some budget freedom to
support other initiatives
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Greater Houston
Construction Careers Initiative
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Joint HBR/ABC/CMEF Effort
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Formed to address craft workforce
shortage
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Reduce duplication of effort
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Focused on attracting people into our
industry and bringing people into the
existing training pipeline of CMEF/NCCER
programs
Construction Careers Initiative
Structure
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Construction Careers Executive Leadership
Team (CCELT)
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Construction Careers Industry Marketing
Committee (CCIMC)
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Construction Careers for Youth Committee
(CCYC)
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Each team and committee has an Owner and
Contractor co-chair
Construction Careers Initiative
Some Initial Ideas:
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Develop a centralized database of new recruits for
construction and recycled workers that Contractors could
access and search
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Develop effective marketing tools and materials that will
emphasize careers in construction
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Two tiered approach for commercial & industrial
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Targeted recruiting – relationships (family, friends,
associates), returning military, college drop-outs,
underemployed (food service, etc.)
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Increase presence in area high schools
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Increase training scholarships at community colleges
Use of Non-English Workers
Survey Results (March)
 Thirteen Owners responded and two Owners already
allow non-English workers on site
 Several companies indicated they were considering this
option
 Barriers identified – Safety procedures, training, signage,
work permits, emergencies
 No company indicated they were planning to translate
site training materials, plant signs, emergency
communications, work instructions or work permits.
 The two companies that allow non-English workers
require bilingual workers in crews.
 None are currently providing ESL for Contractors.
Non-English Workers, Follow-up
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Nine Owner companies met and most indicated they were seriously
considering use of non-English workers and several have active task
groups developing plans & requirements.
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The severe shortage of skilled labor is causing more companies to
consider this option.
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Several companies indicated they were getting push-back from their
safety departments.
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The member company that has been using non-English workers for years
has applied this to all crafts but most have been soft craft workers. One
of their contractors routinely has 10 to 20% non-English workers. They
also reported that no incidents have occurred where non-English was a
factor.
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Another member company reported they had just implemented a nonEnglish program in July through their scaffolding contractor. They are
very interested in determining if the Contractor can deliver skilled labor as
promised.
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The group has asked HBR to be a clearing house of information about
this issue. Plans are to meet again in December to check progress
made.
Other Initiatives and Future Plans
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HBR sponsors an annual Excellence Award program to
recognize Contractors and Owners that support and are
actively involved in KPA and WD initiatives.
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ABC/CMEF/HBR is sponsoring a Construction Exhibition
and Craft Championship at Lee College on October 27.
400 high school students are scheduled to attend.
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Solicit more TWC funding to support Basic Training
classes and other training initiatives.
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HBR/ABC/CMEF are joining a larger coalition of Houston
businesses, associations and colleges to address
shortage of skilled workers in refining and petrochemical
industry.
Other Initiatives Impacting Workforce
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North American Substance Abuse Program –
Standardized industry program implemented in 2004 and
now over 100,000 Contractor employees enrolled with
6% excluded from working at participating Owner sites
due to non-negative results.
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North American Background Screening Consortium being developed between Houston, Baton Rouge & New
Orleans with plans to implement in early 2007. Data
from other programs already implemented indicate that 5
to 10% of workforce might be excluded from participating
sites.