Trade Up 2 Construction Launches in Spokane County

On Wednesday, August 31, the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors announced its new campaign Trade Up 2 Construction to recruit local workers into high-paying construction career opportunities, along with a release of new data showing the severity of construction workforce shortages in Washington state and across the country from AGC of America. The announcement will take place during a visit to North-South Corridor construction project.

Trade Up 2 Construction, an initiative highlighting local construction careers and the hard-working people in our region who perform them, creates a distinct pathway to construction career opportunities through a comprehensive website, upcoming construction fields job board, and career navigation resources.

“There’s not always one easy entry point to the construction industry,” Inland Northwest AGC Executive Director Cheryl Stewart said. “This campaign is a bid to streamline that process, share clearly defined pathways with those seeking to kickstart their own construction careers, and take meaningful action to address workforce challenges in our industry and across our region.”

Brian Turmail, AGC’s national spokesperson, will release the new data and identify measures public officials should take to address workforce shortages. Area contractors Max Kuney and Stephanie Simpkins will address the state of the local workforce. Representatives from the Inland Northwest AGC will outline details of Trade Up 2 Construction, the new local workforce development and community outreach initiative being launched, while representatives from Spokane Home Builders Association will announce Frame Your Future, a new program providing industry-driven curriculum and hands-on building experience to high school youth. All will be available to answer questions following the announcement.