Demand for Skilled Craft Professionals Continues to Grow Across the US
With the economy showing signs of life, despite the ongoing pandemic, the power, chemical, and industrial markets have experienced steady growth in 2021. In fact, according to recent research from Industrial Info Resources, spending in the sector has increased over 34% in the United States, reaching $286 billion in 2021, which is up more than $70 billion over 2020 totals. Most experts agree the growth trend will continue in the upcoming year. With more than 35,000 active construction and maintenance projects on North American plant owners’books, the demand for skilled craft continues.
The demand for skilled Craft Professionals is no different for Day & Zimmermann as we experience continued growth due to the increased demand for construction and maintenance services across the power, renewable, chemical, and industrial markets we serve. This growth is ramping up our search for skilled craft workers across the country to ensure our customers’ projects have support from the skilled craft they need. We annually hire more than 15,000 craft workers and in the coming year, that number will most likely increase. We are actively recruiting ironworkers, welders, pipefitters, crane operators, millwrights, carpenters, scaffold builders, boilermakers, electricians, insulators, laborers, equipment operators, riggers, machinists, painters, valve technicians, breaker technicians, and other skilled craft workers for projects located across the United States.
As the number #1 power operations and maintenance (O&M) services contractor in the United States for the past 13 years (Engineering News-Record), no one knows the importance of skilled craft labor more than Day & Zimmermann. With more than 120 years of diverse experience ensuring power, chemical, and industrial plant owners achieve their goals, the firm has recruited and trained craft workers in every aspect of plant construction, operations, and maintenance. More than that, as a family-owned company, Day & Zimmermann understands the importance of creating an environment where workers feel safe and valued while they provide their skills and expertise to build and maintain plants and infrastructure across the country.
Dedicated to a Culture of Safety for All Employees
Safety is our #1 core value and employees at all levels. Employees at all levels pride themselves on delivering a well-trained workforce that concludes each shift as it started – safe and injury-free. We implement industry best practices and programs, create and use innovative safety technology, and in turn achieve zero-injury safety performance at numerous sites each year due to all of our employees’ unwavering commitment to safety. Through these initiatives, we have woven safety into the fabric of our culture, leading to a 52% decrease in our total recordable incident rate since 2018. As we continue to hire more than 15,000 craft workers each year and actively recruit and hire all disciplines of skilled craft professionals for nuclear, fossil, renewable, chemical, and industrial projects throughout the United States, our goal is to keep all 15,000 of those workers safe. We believe that the proper and ongoing training of all staff and craft professionals is critical for our continued safety successes.
Committed to Training and Development for Craft Professionals
Developing our employees throughout their careers is what makes Day & Zimmermann an industry-leading contractor that consistently provides our customers with the skilled craft labor they require for the successful execution of work at their plants. We have developed expertise in this space by utilizing diversified training programs that ensure high-quality work in a safe environment while keeping a crew on schedule and under budget. Our training programs include a variety of delivery methods, including face-to-face classroom and on-site training, online using Day & Zimmermann’s learning management system known as BetterU, or a hybrid approach.
We partner with trade schools and community colleges to secure government grants and develop worker training programs. Our master trainers, performance evaluators, administrators, and proctors work closely with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), a not-for-profit education foundation created by the construction industry, to develop a standardized curriculum with portable credentials. As an accredited NCCER company, Day & Zimmermann provides a number of workforce training programs with NCCER content. We administer assessments to evaluate the knowledge of an individual in a specific craft area and conduct performance verifications based on skill level, further advancing a worker’s skill set to help each craft worker develop a path of progression into other roles.
A comprehensive introduction to supervision imparts techniques and skills that are key to an effective transition from craft worker to supervisor. The program presents strategies that are coupled with tactical approaches to help new or aspiring supervisors anticipate their challenges and develop competencies to address them. The delivery method of the program includes a combination of reading assignments, in-class discussions, small group collaborations, and online learning. We are committed to the long-term success of all employees in their craft and beyond.
