Congress looks to AGC to highlight proactive steps the industry is taking to recruit and train the next generation of workers and how Congress can assist in those efforts.

On April 26, Meloni Raney, President and CEO of TEXO, testified on behalf of AGC of America before the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development. Raney highlighted the acute labor shortages in the construction industry, the benefits of a rewarding career in the industry and the increasing anticipated need for workers with recently announced large private and public infrastructure investment projects.

In addition, she shared the initiatives led by TEXO in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to provide a skilled workforce. The TEXO Foundation works with local contractors and schools to showcase the industry and recruit workers. She also shared that the Construction Education Foundation, the craft training arm of TEXO, is providing valuable craft training in eight trades. The hearing largely focused on how construction can be an alternative to a four-year collegiate education while simultaneously offering a prosperous and rewarding career without accumulating education debt. The work of TEXO and its foundation partners are a great example of the earn and learn model and a model for the industry.

AGC will work with the Small Business Committee and other leaders in Congress to identify ways to promote careers in construction. Congress is expected to address laws governing federal workforce and education policy later this year and AGC will ensure the construction industry’s needs are a part of those efforts.