December 2, 2009 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET.

During this webinar, industry experts, who were also on the ConsensusDOCS drafting committee, will discuss:
• Unique issues and risks associated with building green projects;
• Contractual best practices for green building; and
• Identifying project participants and their respective roles and responsibilities.

You will learn the history and need for a standard contract document addressing green building, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Be sure to register today.  AGC Members receive a special discounted price of just $99 (retail price of $229).

Please contact Megan McGarvey at mcgarveym@agc.org or 703-837-5369 with any questions.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced the Department’s priorities for grants under the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). The fund, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will support local efforts to start or expand research-based innovative programs that help close the achievement gap and improve outcomes for students.

“We’re looking to drive reform, reward excellence and dramatically improve our nation’s schools,” Duncan said.

Individual school districts or groups of districts can apply for the i3 grants, and entrepreneurial nonprofits can join with school districts to submit applications. Colleges and universities, companies and other stakeholders can be supporters of the projects.

Applicants must demonstrate their previous success in closing achievement gaps, improving student progress toward proficiency, increasing graduation rates, or recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers and principals.

Under the proposed priorities, grants would be awarded in three categories:
     • Scale-up Grants: The category is focused on programs and practices with the potential to reach
       hundreds of thousands of students. Applicants must have a strong base of evidence that their
       program has had a significant effect on improving student achievement.
     • Validation Grants: Existing programs that have good evidence of their impact and are ready to improve
        their evidence base while expanding in their own and other communities.
     • Development Grants: Designed to support new and high-potential practices whose impact should 
        be studied further.

Grants will be awarded to programs that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs and strategies that significantly:
     • Improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps;
     • Decrease dropout rates;
     • Increase high school graduation rates; and
     • Improve teacher and school leader effectiveness.

The Department of Education expects to open the application process in early 2010, with all applications due in early spring of 2010. The Department will obligate all i3 funding by September 30, 2010.

For more information, please visit the Department of Education’s Web site.

December 3, 2009 | December 8, 2009 | December 10, 2009
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET

With the downturn in the availability of commercial work, many construction contractors are bidding on federal and federally-assisted work, and facing the mandates of federal prevailing wage laws, for the first time. The application of the Davis-Bacon Act to all projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is also responsible for leaving many contractors uncertain about the requirements of federal prevailing wage laws and the consequences of non-compliance. Perhaps you are a new staff person responsible for federal contract compliance or you've been in your role for a while and need a refresher course. Industry experts, including the head of enforcement for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division and the DOL Branch Chief for Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations, will provide you with the information you need to understand the specific requirements of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts in a contractor-friendly manner.

December 3: Introduction to the Davis Bacon Act and Wage Determinations
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET

December 8: Compliance Principles
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET

December 10: Reporting Requirements & Enforcement
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET

Register today or download the webinar flyer.

Contact Tamika Carter at cartert@agc.org with any questions.

The Construction Association of Western Pennsylvania (CAWP) recently sponsored a construction-related “Building Bridges” event at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, emphasizing hands-on skills in a way that young children can explore and enjoy, and featuring Bob the Builder, a television favorite.

During the week of August 24-28, CAWP contractor members assisted with daily workshops that enabled children to learn hands-on about the construction and engineering of bridges. Volunteers helped the children build bridges out of popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, construction paper, string, paper clips and tape.

Volunteers from AGC member firms Mascaro Contracting, McKinney Drilling, The Lane Construction Corporation and Trumbull Corporation helped during the four-day event. CAWP contractor member Mascaro Contracting, LP was a major sponsor of the Bob the Builder exhibit.

This event was an important part of CAWP’s ongoing efforts in work force development as it introduces young children to the many opportunities in the construction industry.

Click here to see several photos of the activities.

In the competitive construction industry, it pays in loyalty and quality when you invest in the professional development of your people. Years of experience and on-the-job training can provide crucial knowledge to perform tasks at hand, but the best professionals constantly seek to learn about new technologies and techniques to improve their overall output on site and in the office.

The AGC Construction Project Manager Course (PMC) provides you and your project managers the chance to hone the skills necessary to work more efficiently, increase productivity and propel your construction business to the next level.

COURSE DATE & LOCATION                            APPLICATION DEADLINES
December 6–11, 2009 | Dallas, TX                  November 16, 2009
February 21-26, 2010 | Indianapolis, IN           February 1, 2010 

Learn more and register today.

November 16, 2007 at 4:00 PM ET.

“Stress tests” for financial institutions have been all over the news this year.  They determine if financial institutions have enough capital to withstand the recession and other marketplace turmoil.  Family or closely held business (CHB) stress tests work much the same way.  Their purpose is to look forward in time to see if a construction company can stay afloat during difficult times or in periods of rapid change.

2010 promises to be a challenging year for most contractors.  Stress testing a new concept for family and closely held construction firms can help answer questions like:
     • What actions do we need to take in order to sustain the company – or even turn things around?
     • How can we predict the effects of our decisions on various areas of the company?
     • Will I be able to maintain my lifestyle or even cash out of the company as we had dreamed?

Stress testing is designed to help tell construction executives where to go next versus typical financial accounting which tells you only where you’ve been. Register today and join us for this webinar.

Speakers:
Dennis Engelbrecht
Sr. Consultant
The Family Business Institute

Wayne Rivers
President
The Family Business Institute

To learn more about upcoming webinars, please visit the AGC website or contact Carrie Harper via email at harperc@agc.org.

Effective Oct. 1, 2009, all Job Corps center-operated construction, advanced manufacturing and automotive training programs are required to implement the Job Corps’ newly green Training Achievement Records (TARs). These TARs incorporate green elements based on NCCER’s “Your Role in the Green Environment” module and were validated by a group of industry experts and Job Corps management and construction instructors.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Job Corps has committed to producing 8,500 green graduates from all of its construction programs by August 2010. To implement the Green Construction TARs, Job Corps has communicated with its centers the importance of acquiring NCCER accreditation in order to be able to certify students.

Through the NCCER accreditation process, instructors can obtain certification to enable students to receive industry-recognized credentials and documentation of their training accomplishments through NCCER’s National Registry.

“Students have a better opportunity for getting jobs with NCCER training,” says facility maintenance instructor Robert Watson, Jr. at the Gainesville Job Corps Center in Gainesville, Fla. “Besides having an NCCER certification,” he said, “students have an advantage of being candidates for large construction companies in the U.S.”

Time is running out to register for the annual AGC Construction Leadership Council Working Weekend, to be held Nov. 19-21, 2009, in Nashville, Tennessee. This event is co-sponsored by the AGC of America Construction Leadership Council, AGC of Tennessee, AGC of East Tennessee, and AGC CompTrust…Tennessee.

This two-day event for early- and mid-career professionals working in the construction industry will include the best of all worlds: professional development sessions, networking opportunities, a construction site tour, and two social receptions. Chapter staff involved with CLCs also are welcome to attend.

Highlights include:
     • Construction Leadership & Management Seminars by Bill Krausen of Messer Construction Co.
     • Construction Economics Seminar by Ken Simonson, AGC of America Chief Economist.
     • Managing the Risks Associated with Green Construction Seminar by Steven Charney of
        Peckar & Abramson.
     • Owner Pre-Qualification & Owner Default by Milton Smith of McGriff Seibels & Williams, Inc.
     • Welcome night reception hosted at the Doubletree Hotel Nashville by the AGC of America CLC.
     • Reception Friday night at the Wild Horse Saloon, hosted by AGC of Tennessee, AGC of East Tennessee
        and AGC CompTrust…Tennessee.

Most events will take place at the Doubletree Hotel Nashville, downtown Nashville. Guestroom rate: $119 plus taxes. Cut-off date for hotel reservations is Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009.

There is a $50/person registration fee for AGC members and their guests; $150 for non-members and guests.

Please plan to join your peers for an exciting, educational experience. Registration and a brochure are available online.

For more information, please contact Liz Elvin at elvinl@agc.org, 703-837-5389.

The Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative recently published the findings of its nationwide survey of pre-apprenticeship programs in the construction trades.

Based on responses from 260 programs nationwide, the report presents information about program size, services offered, populations served, funding sources, and successes and challenges in placing trainees in apprenticeships or jobs.

The report noted that it is difficult to create a uniformly acceptable definition of “pre-apprenticeship” program but settled on “any program that aims to offer services that connect people not already in the trades or construction industry, to trades jobs, training or apprenticeships in that industry.” All registered apprenticeship programs were excluded from the survey.

Highlights from the report:
• While nearly 40 percent of the programs reported that at least three-quarters of their students complete
   the pre-apprenticeship program, nearly 60 percent reported that fewer than 1 in 5 graduates are actually
   placed in an apprenticeship program.
• Three-quarters of the programs include women in their programs, but only 33 percent have programs
   or program elements specifically designed to encourage and support women in the trades.
• More than 40 percent of programs serve immigrants and limited English-language populations, but
   less than 10 percent have programs specifically for those populations.
• 33 percent require a high school diploma or GED for entrance.
• Slightly more than half screen for legal work status.
• More than 80 percent provide information on the structure and nature of the construction industry; nearly
   60 percent provide information on green construction; 89 percent teach hand tool identification and
   use; more than 90 percent teach math skills; 95 percent provide safety training, with 70 percent teaching
   the OSHA 10-hour course; more than three-quarters provide blueprint reading training.

AGC participated in the initial design of the survey and encouraged members and Chapters to answer the survey.

Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the impetus for the project was a desire to explore the capacity of the work force system to prepare individuals – particularly low-income and minority jobseekers – for jobs in the construction industry.

To read the complete report, please go to the Workforce Strategies Initiative website.

November 9, 2009 from 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST

For the first time in more than 50 years, the AIA A201 General Terms and Conditions document was not endorsed by AGC. If using the A201, the 2007 edition is now mandated. The substantial risk shift to contractors (general and specialty) and other parties outside the design profession will be addressed in this webinar.

The webinar will analyze the substantial risk shift to contractors (general and specialty), and provide value tools including:
     • Highlighting major concerns and potential traps
     • Recommended revisions
     • Comparisons with terms in ConsensusDOCS contracts

Key Topics:
     • New risks, requirements and restrictions contractors now face
     • Specific possible corrective action to consider (including AGC's Preliminary Commentary on the
        new AIA A201)
     • Explanation of how an architects' and contractors' responsibility and risk exposure are not balanced
        in the A201
     • Commentary on the substance of the A201 and AIA's drafting process

Learn more and register today.

Please contact Megan McGarvey at mcgarveym@agc.org with any questions.