Virtual BYC Ambassador Summit a Huge Hit!

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Recent BYC Virtual Ambassador Summit a Huge Hit!

Earlier this month, the Carolinas AGC Foundation’s Build Your Career program hosted its first virtual Ambassador Summit meeting.  Almost fifty BYC Ambassadors attended this online meeting to learn how they can continue virtually promoting construction career awareness to Carolinas region K-12 students in response to COVID.  At this well-timed Summit meeting, BYC revealed a trailer of our new construction education video that Ambassadors can now use to virtually conduct their Contractors in the Classroom visits and they were also provided with a revamped, reimagined electronic toolkit.

Attending BYC Ambassadors even learned how to incorporate live streaming and virtual project-based learning activities into their video presentations to further customize their socially distanced, remote school visits.  With the combination of our new video and fully-loaded virtual toolkit resources, our Ambassadors were thrilled to learn that they now have access to all the essential online tools and resources necessary to continue safely engaging in virtual industry-specific BYC workforce development outreach efforts!

Dave Simpson, President and CEO of Carolinas AGC

Carolinas AGC President and CEO Dave Simpson attended the Summit and remarked on the significance of Build Your Career’s immediate response to the coronavirus pandemic by creating much-needed virtual resources.  Simpson stated:  Our recent virtual BYC Ambassador Summit was a huge success because our Ambassadors now have the virtual and electronic tools they need to continue properly promoting construction career opportunities to our industry’s future workforce, at every level, even in the midst of COVID-19.” The BYC Ambassador Summit meeting attendees echoed Simpson’s sentiments.

Alex Spencer, Palmetto Corp

Alex Spencer, CHST and Safety and Traffic Control Manager for South Carolina CAGC member Palmetto Corp stated:  “The BYC Ambassador program is an invaluable outreach tool for our youth. As Ambassadors, we have the ability to directly impact the future leaders of our industry. I would invite anyone who has a passion for mentoring others, to attend the second virtual Ambassador Summit being held in September. It’s a great way to learn about the program, as well as the virtual tools they offer to ensure the safety of all involved.”

John Anglin, Business Manager with Asheville North Carolina’s Young & McQueen Grading Company, Inc., offered his testimonial of endorsement by stating, “The virtual BYC Ambassador Summit was really great!  The online resources that have been created, in response to COVID, to assist Ambassadors as they continue construction outreach in schools is an encouraging instigator for companies to put their best foot forward with compiling their own content that is wonderfully supplemented by the virtual tools and resources BYC is providing.  The key thing is that we as construction employers use these new virtual tools to build those working, trusting relationships with our local schools.”  

Since Carolinas AGC is still limiting face-to-face meetings to comply with COVID social distancing protocols, BYC decided to host two virtual Summit meetings this year to offer more scheduling options to our Ambassadors.  Build Your Career was fortunate to have both of these online events sponsored by one of the newest additions to the Carolinas AGC member family, Trades Masters Powered by RigUp

Lori Hardaway, Trades Masters Powered by RigUp

Lori Hardaway, active BYC Ambassador and National Infrastructure Account Manager for Trades Masters, spoke on behalf of her company when expressing why they chose to sponsor the two virtual Ambassador Summits for BYC.  “When the opportunity arose to sponsor the virtual Build Your Career  Ambassador Summit meetings, we couldn't pass it up. Tammy Ford has put together an amazing program that makes it so easy for contractors to encourage young people to consider our industry.  We all have to do our part and BYC brings all the pieces together.”

Trades Masters Powered by RigUp has been providing skilled labor staffing around the country for over 20 years.  The company has built a successful on-demand solution for sourcing skilled construction workers for contractors which reduces risk and helps get jobs done on time and on (or under) budget.  In addition to temporary staffing, they also provide temp to hire, direct hire and payroll and back office solutions.  The Trades Masters craftworker employees receive industry-leading compensation and benefits, licensing and certification assistance, continuing trade education and many other unique company offerings.

Trades Masters is now backed by RigUp, the energy industry’s largest marketplace for on-demand services and skilled labor.  The acquisition is RigUp’s first outside of the energy sector and marks the company’s entrance into non-residential construction. Much like traditional oil and gas, the non-residential construction industry is increasingly supply constrained, with an aging workforce that is hyper-fragmented and reliant on outdated processes. Many of the skills in construction are compatible across multiple verticals with limited additional training, making this an optimal market for RigUp’s worker-focused marketplace expertise.

In 2020, Trades Masters made the decision to begin focusing on the infrastructure sector and now proudly provides skilled construction workers to the infrastructure industry on a national level.  The company recently added Lori Hardaway, who has been staffing infrastructure projects for almost 10 years, to their national accounts sales team. Trades Masters Powered by RigUp is excited to be a new Carolinas AGC member and supporter of the Build Your Career Ambassador program.

When the coronavirus began rapidly spreading across our country at alarming rates earlier this year, K-12 schools in all fifty states closed in response to protect the safety and well-being of student populations.  Our Carolinas region educators moved to quickly establish and implement virtual, remote learning platforms for students.

The Build Your Career program also responded quickly to convert our existing program resources over to a user-friendly, electronic format that would allow our Ambassadors to continue their BYC outreach efforts in a safer, socially distanced remote manner.  BYC also developed a robust construction education video that can now be used in conjunction with the new e-toolkits to conduct virtual “Contractors in the Classroom” school visits.

Mark Johnnie, Balfour Beatty

Mark Johnnie, VP and Region Manager with Balfour Beatty, attended the recent online Ambassador Summit and was excited to see the new virtual toolkit resources and educational video that Ambassadors can now use while engaging with Carolinas K-12 schools.  “The future of the construction industry rests with a generation that is, for the most part, unaware of the wonderful and rewarding career opportunities construction has to offer.  In spite of COVID challenges, CAGC’s Build Your Career program offers all the tools necessary, including virtual, for our Ambassadors to reach out  and attract the next generation of builders”

The recent Ambassador Summit also included two very timely presentations from representatives of the governing bodies for both North and South Carolina’s K-12 systems.  Our guest speakers, Kama Staton with the South Carolina State Board of Education and Craig Pendergraft with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, provided our attendees with updates on school reopening plans and how BYC Ambassadors can continue safely conducting school visits by using the new BYC virtual resources.  

Leslie Clark, Carolinas AGC

Leslie Clark, VP of Operations and SC Director of Government Relations & Divisions for Carolinas AGC, also attended the virtual BYC Summit and weighed in on the importance of hearing directly from state educators about how Ambassadors can expect to handle future school engagements in our post-COVID world.  Clark, who worked tirelessly over the last few years on behalf of South Carolina CAGC members to facilitate the launch of the Be Pro Be Proud-SC rig, stated:  “It was great to participate in the Ambassador Summit and to receive more information about how the schools plan to operate in SC this fall. This was of particular interest as we are launching the Be Pro Be Proud SC skilled trades mobile workshop Sept 3rd and want it to visit as many schools as possible showcasing the importance of skilled trades.”

Carolinas AGC President and CEO, Dave Simpson, commented on the value of the recent BYC Ambassador Summit and the launch of the new virtual tools and construction educational video by saying,  “Very little we do in the construction industry is more important than maintaining a strong pipeline of young, enthusiastic folks to attract and keep in the great lifelong careers that are there. Our Carolinas AGC Build Your Career Ambassadors are using the tools we are providing – including excellent virtual resources – to reach out to grades K-12 and get the job done.”

If you missed the first virtual Build Your Career Ambassador Summit, BYC will be hosting a second virtual Summit meeting on September 16th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.  Please register now to attend so your company is prepared and equipped to safely and virtually conduct future school visits.  The CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative is committed to putting an end to the construction labor shortage crisis.

 

Through numerous BYC programs, our Ambassador outreach efforts, the new virtual toolkit resources and our robust construction education video, Carolinas AGC continues to build the next generation of construction professionals and a skilled labor pool—ultimately ensuring the growth and sustainability of our industry for many years to come!

For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative or to volunteer to be a BYC Ambassador, please visit our website or contact Program Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or by phone at (704) 995-3901. To make a charitable contribution to Build Your Career, please visit our secure online donation portal.