Construction Citizen’s Elizabeth McPherson joined MAREK’s Laura Contreras on a jobsite last year to discuss her success through a NCCER training course at Community Family Centers (CFC). After completing the program at CFC, Laura was immediately hired by MAREK to work in their new flooring division.
While Contreras’s mother was taking English… read more
The following article was authored by Angela Robbins and originally published on Construction Career Collaborative.
I love school. Those closest to me might even say it is one of my favorite places. Schools are full of potential, dreams, and hope for the future. They are alive with possibility. They represent the pipeline of future… read more
How do you get a job without the right skills or credentials? How do you gain the right skills or credentials to get or succeed in a job if you can’t pay for the education needed to obtain them? From an employer’s perspective, how can you attract eager workers, ensure they develop the skills they need, observe their suitability for long-term… read more
Pop quiz: What’s the most valuable resource in construction?
If your answer is a specific building material, process, or even technology, you’d be incorrect. Construction’s most valuable resource: people.
Construction isn't just for the guys. In fact, one of the most pervasive myths that we hear all the time is that women are somehow not welcome in the industry.
A construction craft professional was just assigned his first supervisor position as the jobsite foreman. Things went relatively well while the crew was small. As other crafts ramped up, it was necessary for his crew to increase in numbers to keep the job schedule on track. As he was accustomed to working with an experienced crew, he didn’t know… read more
Craft professionals in construction have the “gift of choice” and the chance to be the author of their own future. That was the main message from Mike Bellaman, President and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors, as he spoke to students graduating from the Workforce Development Program at MAREK this year.
As the 2018-2019 school year closes and we watch the first wave of craft workers hired from the C3 Career Fair enter the workforce as they move beyond graduation, I am reminded how life is full of milestones and moments that mark our progress. These milestones are important. They mark the significant achievements along our path.
When you ask Sam Nunez, Corporate Controller at MAREK, what he thinks about training programs at work, he will give you a straightforward answer. “It’s not an option, it’s a must. You’ve got to have (a training program.)” In fact, Sam believes in the value of training employees so much, that he recently shared his insight on a panel at the… read more
The following article was authored by Construction Career Collaborative Executive Director Chuck Gremillion.Nearly ten years ago, a group of leaders in the Houston commercial construction industry met to discuss its biggest future challenge, an aging and diminishing craft workforce. Baby Boomers were (and still are) reaching retirement age… read more
Having heart, ambition, persistence humility, and the ability to build relationships can be the difference between career advancement and unemployment.
The annual Build Your Future Construction Career Day hosted by Construction Education Foundation (CEF) was rescheduled due to extreme weather from last October to April 18, 2019.
MAREK Field Supervisor Jaime Ramos was recognized Friday at AGC Houston’s Patrick J. Kiley Excellence in Leadership Awards Program as the 2018 AGC Standard of Excellence Award winner. Jaime, nominated by McCarthy Builders for his outstanding work on the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) Glassell School project last year, shares this award with… read more
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit the jobsite of the new Memorial Hermann patient care tower in the Texas Medical Center, where I spoke with two MAREK craft professionals who are both working on the project, and who both happen to be women. This is the second of those two interviews, in which I interviewed foreman Gloria Palau about… read more
The following article was authored by Elizabeth McPherson and originally published on Construction Citizen.Last month I visited an active construction site in the Texas Medical Center where I was able to interview two MAREK craft professionals who are both working on a hospital construction project, and who both happen to be women. This is… read more
In the October 2018 issue of Construction Dimensions, the national publication of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI), Mike Holland, COO of Houston-based MAREK and one of our authors, was quoted along with a group of national specialty contractors about the causes and possible solutions to the ongoing skilled labor shortages… read more
The following is excerpted from an article by Ulf Wolf, which was originally published in Construction Dimensions, a monthly publication by the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry. The bad news: Recently, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, the number of open U.S. construction sector jobs came in at 243… read more
In partnership with MAREK, UpSkill Houston created the video below, “What are you up for,” featuring Keith McCray, MAREK Leadman. The goal of this campaign is to help break down barriers, foster open dialogue, and create a singular vision to power solutions that prepare Houston’s workforce for good-paying middle-skill jobs in high demand… read more
There are many challenges in the construction industry, but one of the largest is the availability of craft-worker manpower. According to The National Association of Women in Construction, women only comprise nine percent of the total craft-worker workforce, so construction companies could see a huge boost in their recruitment efforts by targeting… read more
The annual Build Your Future Construction Career Day hosted by Construction Education Foundation (CEF) was rescheduled due to extreme weather from last October to April 18, 2019.