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Colorado Construction Workforce Programs
This week there was some exciting news for future construction workers. CEF Colorado and CIC Colorado received grant funding for their workforce programs. CEF has a goal of filling the gap of future career needs. They want to train 45,000 workers by 2027! Get the full story from Mile High CRE.
The Construction Education Foundation of Colorado (CEF Colorado) along with the Careers in Construction (CIC) program received a $100,000 Daniels Fund grant to support construction workforce development. The grant funding will benefit participants of the CIC program, that trains high school students with both instructional and hands-on-learning opportunities for construction skilled trades jobs and related construction career pathways.
“We appreciate the continued generosity from the Daniels Fund, and we are grateful to receive this much-needed contribution to benefit the next generation of the construction workforce,” commented Bryan Cook, executive director of CEF Colorado and the Chapter Operations director for the Associated General Contractors of Colorado (AGC/C).
The CIC program was founded by the partnership of the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs (CSHBA) and AGC/C to address the need for a greater construction workforce in Colorado. High schoolers enrolled in CIC follow the Home Builders Institute (HBI) nationally recognized curriculum along with hands-on construction projects to gain exposure to building trades safety and first aid as well as proper handling of tools and construction materials.
The CIC program began in 2015 with fewer than 30 students in one high school in El Paso County. The program has since grown to include the Denver metro area, with 19 participating high schools and 1,200 students enrolled in the construction training program. The CIC Metro Denver program is now part of the CEF Colorado suite of construction training programs. This grant will help not only sustain the CIC program, but also allow for continued growth to help fill the construction labor shortage gap that remains a challenge for construction firms in Colorado.
The Daniels Fund, established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program, and ethics initiative. Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.
More Than A Motto
At Fortress Development Solutions, safety is more than just part of our motto. It’s part of our everyday life. From day one our employees are given all the tools to make safe and sustainable choices to improve their day-to-day. From daily, weekly, and monthly trainings to our stop work policy, our employees are encouraged to make safe decisions at every construction site. We went behind the scenes of our latest safety class to talk to our safety team Ed and Veronica and asked our employees how they’re feeling about the latest safety updates.
For this monthly safety meeting, our team had a refresher on the H2S precautions, and what to look for when on a construction site. We went over basics about the equipment that should be worn, when to contact safety, and what to do when equipment is damaged. These are daily tasks that can save lives! Our employees have expressed their gratitude for continued work and preventative practices that allow them to feel safe on the job and go home to their loved ones safely.
If you’re curious about Hydrogen Sulfide, or H2S gas, it can come out of the ground and cause uncommon side effects. Hydrogen sulfide is a mucous membrane and respiratory tract irritant. Exposure symptoms include nausea, headaches, delirium, disturbed equilibrium, tremors, convulsions, and skin and eye irritation. Our team always wears monitors and are diligent about keeping each other safe and protected from this gas.
Our safety meetings are on the first Wednesday of every month with the goal of getting together and recharging the focus on safety measures. From our job safety analysis and covid prep to our weekly and monthly safety meetings, we’re making sure our employees stay safe and can continue doing their jobs.
With Covid causing many people to be out of work we’re very thankful for the continued opportunity in the Northern Colorado and Greeley area. When we sat down with our employees we learned how lucky our team and company has been to keep such hard-working employees safe at work.
Marcos was very thankful that covid hadn’t slowed him down and that they’re always protected with the latest gear. “We continue to get the work and I’m feeling great that we’re busy and staying busy even with covid. The owners have gotten us new equipment and they’re taking care of the crews and the people.”
Julian is thankful for the education he’s gotten while working at Fortress Development Solutions. It’s helped keep him safe on the job site. “I feel good about the new things we’re doing on the ranch. I’m learning new skills and there is a lot of opportunities to learn and grow.”
Our employees work hard to master new skills and are always making sure that they’re performing in a safe and smart way. For our clients, this means fewer accidents, quality work, and meeting deadlines. To partner with us visit our site today!
Keeping Your Construction Site Safe During Covid
Covid has changed the way many businesses operate and function. At Fortress Development Solutions, we’ve learned to pivot and adapt to the changing rules and regulations. Working in construction development and oil and gas means we’re constantly having employees come in from different locations to work on open-air sites. We’ve implemented new safety procedures for anyone visiting our construction sites with temperature checks, trace mapping, and requiring masks for all visitors. Through these steps, we’ve had zero positive covid cases on our sites or home office, and our crew has been safe throughout the entire process.
When you’re going from site to site every day the process can be daunting. How does this change the day to day for our employees? Follow along as we spend a day on one of our construction sites during covid.
With safety always being a top priority for our employees and clients, we’ve had measures in place for years to keep our employees safe. With daily, weekly, and monthly safety procedures, we’ve been able to avoid injury on the job and maintained our timeline goals in the process. Covid was another beast. How would we protect our employees and ensure a safe work environment while still maintaining our highest standard of performance? Through checkpoints, security, and safety supplies we were able to avoid a Covid outbreak.
Before stepping onto a job site our employees are asked that if they aren’t feeling well, have a fever, or any COVID symptoms, that they stay home. If someone has symptoms they are asked to get a COVID test and show the results before returning to work.
When our employees arrive to enter the site, we perform a job safety analysis. They will prescreen, fill out paperwork, get a temperature check, and make sure they’re wearing masks and have sanitization. If they’re driving to other locations they’re only allowed to have two employees per car and one will sit in the back of the car for distancing.
While at the site all employees are encouraged to continue social distancing. We have clean porta potties that are also equipped with a sanitization station. We also encourage our employees to keep socially distanced at the site.
Through everything, we’ve managed to keep our employees safe and happy. We sat down with some of our employees to hear their thoughts on our response to Covid and how they’re feeling since we’ve implemented these new safety measures. Here is what they had to say:
Julian said, “With the social distancing, masks and clean porta potties and hand sanitizer, I feel safe about it.”
Rick said “It’s helping us all in the long run. They’ve done a great job.”
Pablo agrees “We’re safe because we’re following the rules. Fortress has shown me how to be safe.”
We’re very thankful for our employees and their diligent efforts to avoid the spread of covid. We know our employees are looking forward to having things go back to normal but in the meantime, we’re glad they’re all safe.