Commission Meeting Materials 100416 9:00 a.m. - Building ...



BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES DEMONSTRATION PROJECTSDISCUSSION PAPERBackgroundWhen Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017, thousands of Texas homes were destroyed, further exacerbating the need for building and construction trades, with a strong demand for residential construction. Storm surge, catastrophic and widespread flooding, and damaging winds devastated homes in coastal communities, Houston, and surrounding areas of southeastern Texas. Five local workforce development areas (workforce areas) along the Texas coast were hardest hit, with most of the counties in these areas declared to be part of the Presidential Disaster Declaration. These workforce areas include Deep East Texas, Southeast Texas, Gulf Coast, Golden Crescent and Coastal Bend. Three other workforce areas, Rural Capital, Alamo, and Brazos Valley, were also impacted.?In addition to funds made available for temporary clean up jobs, these federal dislocated worker grants were also provided to community colleges in the impacted areas to address a shortage of skilled labor in the construction industry through short-term, fast track training courses. Adults dislocated by Hurricane Harvey can be served through the existing federal dislocated worker grants in impacted Board areas, to participate in either temporary clean-up work, or to engage in construction related training.A dire need for construction workers existed prior to Hurricane Harvey; and a 2014 survey of Texas construction companies confirmed that need stating that: 35 percent had difficulty filling professional and craft worker positions; and33 percent had difficulty filling their craft worker positions but did not have issues finding professional position candidates. The existing construction workforce has been called into action to support the recovery efforts along the Texas coast, and we continue to have a need across the state to build the skills of the next generation of building and construction skilled trade workers going forward. Issue Hurricane Harvey created additional demand for building and construction trades including carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters, welders, masons, and electricians in the Harvey impacted areas, and in other parts of the state that were already suffering a shortage of construction workers. Additional support for workforce development training is needed to assist Texas adults by preparing them for employment in high-demand occupations in the building and construction trades. Additional grants focusing on building and construction trades statewide will support the building of the talent pipeline for this industry and ensure we have the needed workforce.Decision Points Staff seeks direction in the following: providing $800,000 in WIOA funds to continue to support Texas community and technical college programs that provide training to Texas individuals 18 years of age and older to prepare them for employment in high-demand occupations in the building and construction trades;capping the maximum amount of individual awards at $400,000; capping the maximum amount of the cost per participant at $3,000; and,prohibiting the use of funds for equipment over $5000. ................
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