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Labor committee and training providers plan targeted HCST outreach and job‑match events
Summary
Committee breakout sessions focused on connecting Highway Construction Skills Training (HCST) graduates with contractors. Members agreed to pursue a living list of graduates, trial regional job fairs timed to construction season, and mentoring and outreach steps before the next annual DBE summit.
The stakeholder advisory committee’s business and labor breakout sessions prioritized direct workforce connections: how to make HCST graduates visible to prime contractors and how to stage targeted job‑matching events ahead of the construction season.
John Swan (Laborers Local 113 secretary‑treasurer) and John Anderson (WRTP Big Step/H CST partner) co‑facilitated the labor subcommittee. They reported a plan to use a new listing of HCST graduates that appears in the summer edition of the DOT’s DBE Reporter. The list contains graduate names, graduation dates, trade of interest and contact email by region. Breakout participants proposed turning the list into a maintained, “living” spreadsheet fed by the monthly reports training providers already submit so it does not stale between quarterly publications.
Committee members described two immediate, actionable aims: (1) include a link or copy of the HCST graduate list in bid‑letting materials or prime outreach so primes can pre‑screen trainees before interviews; (2) pilot regionally located job‑match events or luncheons in the down season (late December–January/February) so graduates can be hired or be ready when the construction season ramps up in spring. Several labor and training providers emphasized timing: contractors typically begin hiring and interviews in March‑April, so an event in late winter would allow graduates time to arrange licensing and paperwork.
The nut graf: members asked DOT staff to test low‑cost, high‑value steps — maintain the graduate list, circulate it to primes during pre‑bid periods, and run at least one regional job‑match session timed to the hiring cycle — rather than proposing a large new statewide program.
Several providers and DOT staff volunteered to follow up: maintain the graduate spreadsheet, discuss how to include the list in bidding materials, and evaluate funding or venue options for regional pilot events. The labor group also proposed mentoring or networking sessions for graduates to increase employers’ awareness of available trained workers.
Ending: The committee scheduled follow‑up items and will report progress at the next advisory meeting; staff asked stakeholders to share candidate venues, contractor contacts and to identify which projects/regions would most benefit from targeted job‑match events.
