Dane County officials presented a multi-step plan Monday to help fill employee shortages in construction companies by connecting them with unemployed workers.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said “Project Big Step” addresses two challenges facing Dane County: a building industry confronting worker shortages due to aging employees and depleting recruitments, and a broadening unemployed minority community.
“When I looked at these two situations, I saw it as an ideal opportunity to bring various groups of people together and take what is a problem and turn it into an opportunity and a solution,” Parisi said.
Dane County allotted $30,000 in the 2014 Dane County Budget for the project. According to the press release, the project pairs contractors with employees by recruiting and educating potential workers to fill needed spaces on upcoming projects.
Officials modeled “Project Big Step” after a similar project in Milwaukee, Wis., according to the release. Parisi met with representatives from labor and educational organizations in addition to economic and workforce development specialists to strategize.
“We didn’t have to meet very many times to know we were on to something,” Parisi said.
The project aims to draw workers back into construction post-Great Recession, while ensuring newly hired trainees stay in the industry, according to the release. With a series of million dollar building projects proposed, such as expansion of the Alliant Energy Center, Parisi said he hopes “Project Big Step” will succeed and reinstitute skilled labor as a promising trade.
“I think it’s important students of all ages realize the trades are an extremely viable employment option,” Parisi said.
