The AGC of Washington Education Foundation awarded for crafting a highly innovative approach to overcoming construction labor shortages, called Core Plus Construction, which introduces students and educators to construction careers. As a result, the foundation was named as the grand prize winner of the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk.
“These awards recognize the innovators who are crafting novel approaches to overcoming some of the most pressing challenges facing the construction industry,” said Bob Lanham, the association’s president and president of Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc. in Houston, Texas. “Shining a spotlight on their accomplishments is the best way to ensure these innovations improve the entire industry.”
Core Plus Construction is an official Washington State program of study. It allows high school students to explore construction careers through construction trades classes that provide credit equivalencies for third year math, science, and English language arts and industry certification. This 1080-hour program of study includes curriculum and resources. This ensures that all schools, regardless of size or funding, can offer students a free, quality construction education that is consistent across the state. CPC has proven to be scalable. We are working with students, educators, and counselors in rural areas that might not otherwise have funding to access construction education. Benefits of this industry aligned program include the opportunity for general contractors to volunteer as instructors, offer jobsite tours, and serve as mentors.
In addition to AGC of Washington, Clarence, New York-based CAHill TECH, received the second-place prize for development of their own app, aQuiRe©, which improves job readiness for the NextGen workforce by modernizing mentor/protégé relationships. Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies was awarded the third-place prize for developing Napkin Sketch, a web-based application that empowers real estate professionals to make quicker, more accurate site selections. This tool quickly test-fits sites and uses high-level building parameters to derive a total construction cost, scope, and duration.
The association presented the AGC of Washington Foundation with a $7,000 grand prize during its annual convention last month in Grapevine, Texas. Lanham noted that the association created the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk, to inspire members of the construction industry to craft innovative solutions to pressing industry challenges. Lanham added that the Innovation Award showcases free thinkers within the construction industry to provide solutions to construction challenges we face.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the Innovation Awards. Click here to view a collection of photographs for use by the media featuring diverse individuals in the construction workforce.