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Recommendation to request City Manager to work with Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Board and local partners, such as the Long Beach Ministerial Alliance, on the creation of a construction workforce outreach program. The purpose of the program is to expose potential job seekers to the opportunities of an apprenticeship program in the building trades and create a framework to assist residents to prepare and compete for these programs.
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach, the Port of Long Beach, and many other public and private agencies are making significant construction-related infrastructure investments in the years to come, including the Gerald Desmond Bridge and the Middle Harbor Project. These investments and many others will make a significant impact to our local economy and workforce.
More specifically, the construction industry has demonstrated promising job growth across the country. Construction employment in California in August 2012 totaled 580,800, an increase of 6% from August 2011. In 2011, annual pay of all construction workers in the United States averaged $50,700, 6% more than the average for all private sector employees. Construction workers’ pay in California averaged $56,200, 3% more than all private sector employees in the state.*
Already, partners in the building trades community have expressed interest in partnering with Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Board to recruit interested and qualified residents into viable apprenticeship programs that will lead to good wages and lasting careers.
In order to ensure that residents are in the best position to gain meaningful employment and skills from these opportunities, the City of Long Beach should do what it can to streamline a process to further develop a capable local workforce to fill these positions.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
We request that the program be implemented within 90 days, and the progress of the program be reported to the city council via memorandum.
FISCA...
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