AGCW Northern District Report: Ribbon cut at new RAP facility in Marysville | Annual Convention next week in Bellevue | Get involved with Government Affairs

Ribbon-cutting for new RAP facility in Marysville
A wide spectrum of stakeholders from Snohomish County attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) program on January 7th at Marysville Pilchuck High School. It was a packed house in the new RAP facility with representatives on-hand from local cities, the Snohomish County Council and state legislative representatives as well as construction and labor representatives.
(Photos, from left: RAP students cutting the ribbon; opening comments from Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring)
The RAP program developed through conversations with Stanwood Mayor Leonard Kelly and Snohomish Councilmember Nate Nehring, as they discussed the worker shortage in the construction trades and the lack of exposure to the trades in high schools. This started the initiative to develop a program for area high-school students to learn about construction-trade careers, including career opportunities available right out of high school. As Kelly mentioned to the audience, "Delaying entry by ten years into the trades can cost up to $1M in lost wages and benefits." Nehring worked hard to organize support, which included AGC of Washington, for the RAP program in the 2019 legislative session, which resulted in $1.5M in funding to get the program up and operating at Marysville Pilchuck HS.
In its first semester, there are 22 students involved in RAP, who were on-hand for the ribbon cutting, providing tours and sharing their perspectives on the program. These students have immediately learned some valuable skills as they have focused on revitalizing an old facility on the M-PHS campus for their class/shop space. They’ve removed and replaced walls, stripped concrete floors and painted walls to create a working shop space with equipment lockers. These students have a signature project in building a tiny house for the homeless in the Marysville community. They are focused to complete this by late spring.

Help us help you! Get involved with Government Affairs
The State legislature returns to Olympia next week for 60 days. Sign-up now to participate in AGC’s Legislative Huddle conference calls, held weekly during the legislative session. The first call is set for Thursday, January 23 at 7:30 a.m; calls will be held every Thursday at 7:30 during the session. AGC will send out a call reminder, which will include an agenda and tracking list, to those who sign-up. These calls are a great way to stay informed on what’s going on in Olympia and for your lobbyist to get feedback on legislative issues. Click here today to sign-up. Another way to get involved is to sign-up to receive AGC’s Action Alerts. During session, when issues come up and we need to ask members to contact their legislator(s), we will send out a call-to-action request. We always provide a letter that you can just send to your legislator(s) or you can choose to personalize the letter. When you sign-up, it matches you with your legislators, so you don’t even need to know who they are. With just a few clicks, you can help make those contacts. To sign-up to receive our Action Alerts, click here. Please consider sharing this link with others in our company who might be interested.

Three out of four construction firms to add workers,
but worries grow about labor supply and quality
(From AGC of America) Contractors expect demand to expand in every market segment in 2020 despite signs of a slowing economy as they increase compensation and adopt productivity-boosting technologies to cope with worker shortages.
Despite signs the overall economy may be slowing, most construction firms expect demand for their services and hiring will expand in 2020, yet even more firms are worried about their ability to find qualified workers to hire, according to survey results released today by the AGC of America and Sage Construction and Real Estate. The findings are detailed in the Strong Demand for Work Amid Stronger Demand for Workers: The 2020 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook report.
"Contractors are very optimistic about demand for construction in 2020," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer. "At the same time, many construction executives are troubled by labor shortages and the impacts those shortages are having on operations, training and safety programs, and bottom lines." Read more…

Education, outreach are the keys to
recruiting women into the industry
(Constructor Magazine) Women comprise just 9.9% of the construction-industry workforce, with an even smaller number of women on the front lines — an estimated 1%. With women making up 47% of all employed individuals, this means that the construction industry is only benefiting from about 1.5% of the total female workforce. Construction companies are strengthening their efforts to attract women to the industry as one strategy to address today’s workforce needs. Although construction has traditionally been a male-dominated career, women are increasingly recognizing opportunities in construction. Read more...

Upcoming Northern District events -- all free to AGC members

Northern District Power Breakfast (Everett) - Register here
Building A Great Online Presence
Matt Cail, Principal, Super Charge Marketing - Jan. 22; 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Northern District Power Breakfast (Bellingham) - Register here
How to Increase Benefits and Security for Your Employees
Without Impacting Your Bottom Line
Nick Wallace, Leverage Benefits - Jan. 30; 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Northern District Quarterly Membership Meeting (Everett) - Register here
The Nine Components of Extraordinary Leadership
Wayne H. Ottum, Ottum Enterprises - Feb. 12; 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Northern District Quarterly Membership Breakfast (Bellingham) - Register here
Whatcom County's AED Program: How Contractors Can
Improve Chances of Surviving Cardiac Arrest
Mike Hilley, Whatcom County EMS - Feb. 20; 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Northern District educational class calendar
For a complete calendar listing of AGC Education Foundation classes, click here.

Jan 22 - Basic Rigging and Qualified Signal Person Certification
7:30 am - 5:00 pm; AGC Education Foundation - Integrity Safety/Anacortes

Feb 4 - First Aid/CPR with AED
2:00 pm - 6:30 pm AGC Education Foundation - Integrity Safety/Anacortes

Feb 19 - Basic Rigging and Qualified Signal Person Certification
7:30 am - 5:00 pm; AGC Education Foundation - Integrity Safety/Anacortes