An agreement for a land transfer from the City of Detroit to Ilitch Holdings Inc., that enabled construction of a new arena for the Detroit Red Wings requires that 51% of the project’s construction workers must come from the city. That stipulation is creating a challenge for Ilitch, the owner of the Red Wings, due to a shortage of skilled tradespeople who live in the city.
Construction firms that fall short of the hiring goal can still work on the project, but must pay a fee or offer free training and provide instructors and equipment. Many construction workers move out of the city after they acquire skills to earn a better wage. Detroit’s mayor is considering offering low-interest loans on city-owned houses to try to retain construction workers.
The arena construction will create an estimated 5,500 jobs with nearly 2,800 of those workers needing to come from Detroit. The project could become a training ground for tradespeople who will be needed on other major projects in the area including blight removal, the M-1 rail project, and the planned New International Trade Crossing bridge that will span the river between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
Even if the local hiring requirement weren’t in effect, the arena project would be hard pressed to find enough laborers, carpenters, electricians, pipe fitters and other trades, with the region experiencing a labor shortage due to an aging workforce.
(http://win-semich.org/challenges-loom-to-fill-2800-construction-jobs-in-detroit/)
Related Stories
| Jan 5, 2012
New law bars Defense Department from new LEED certifications
The Defense Department will not be allowed to use any money to certify its buildings LEED Gold or Platinum, under a law President Obama signed Dec. 31.
| Jan 5, 2012
Some ADA accessibility rules change in 2012
Some changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act go into effect beginning March 15, 2012.
| Jan 3, 2012
New SJI Rule on Steel Joists
A new rule from the Steel Joist Institute clarifies when local reinforcement of joists is required for chord loads away from panel points. SJI members offer guidance about how and when to specify loads.
| Dec 29, 2011
OSHA enforcing new fall hazard standards
OSHA is enforcing its new fall protection standards, as evidenced by a recent crackdown in New York.
| Dec 29, 2011
NRCA offers program on new fall-protection requirements
The National Roofing Contractors Association's (NRCA's) program "Roofing Industry Fall Protection from A to Z" will be held Feb. 21 during the organization's 125th Annual Convention.
| Dec 29, 2011
Decision not to fireproof the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub criticized
Some criticized the decision, reasoning that the structure could be a terrorist target.
| Dec 29, 2011
Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools
California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.
| Dec 29, 2011
GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment
The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.
| Dec 22, 2011
Federal home weatherization program has impacted 6.8 million homes
More than 6.8 million homes have been weatherized using federal, state, utility, and other funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
| Dec 22, 2011
Group developing BIM data standards
A collaboration among Georgia Tech’s Digital Building Lab, the Precast Concrete Institute, the American Concrete Institute, and the American Institute of Steel Construction aims to develop global standards for transportation of three-dimensional digital models among fabricator, architecture, engineering, and construction groups.
