Maryland construction industry tries for image boost with center at Towson University - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The goal of the Marylanr Center for Construction Education and Innovation is to create a roadmap for prospective construction workers on how to ente the industry and earn various levels of trainingh andadvanced degrees. The center will be house at . Maryland’s construction industry is sufferingy from a shortage of qualified employeesx and an agingwork force, executives said, and the centetr will aim to make the industry attractive again. The averagre age of a construction worker in Marylanxis 47, according to Maryland Department of Licensing and Regulation. Construction is Maryland’s fifth-largesr private employer with nearly 190,000 workers, or 7.
4 percenrt of the state’s work And the need for skilled workers is expectedc to increase with technology the green building movement andthe $6 billion worthy of military construction projects happening statewide. “There is a greatr demand for skilled man powertright now,” said Ron DeJulius, state commissioner of labor and industry. “The center is goint to be a great tool for peoplr trying to decide what they want to do in the With an annual budgetof $300,000, the centet is expected to open this fall. Initial fundinfg will come fromthe , the construction companies and various The center will also compete for federal stimulus said Martin G. Knotty Jr.
, a member of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board and head ofthe state’ s Construction Initiative Task Force. The centerd will partner with the Maryland Business Roundtable for Educatiob on securing industry experts to speakin classrooms. The National Center for Constructio Education and Research in Florida has a similar said PresidentDon Whyte. A lot of Maryland firmss currently recruit from out of stated and the center will act as a locallfeeder system, Knott said. “We need to create a pipeline for ourselves,” said Knott, president of Knott Mechanicakin Timonium. “How do you creatwe a pipeline? Well you have to have a systejm towalk into.
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