AGC just released the second edition of Building to LEED for New Construction and will provide anyone interested in receiving quality green education has all the information they need to attend (or host) this new program.

Building to LEED is designed to educate construction professionals at all experience levels on a range of topics they would encounter while building a project pursuing LEED certification. This is not a preparatory class for the LEED Accredited Professional (AP®) or Green Associate™ certifications; it focuses on the credits within the New Construction and Major Renovations™ rating system and the impact those credits can have on construction practices, providing tips and lessons learned for contractors who are working on or considering pursuing LEED projects.

Continuing Education Credits
Building to LEED is approved by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Education Provider Program for 7.5 LEED BD+C Specific Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) Continuing Education (CE) Hours. To offer CE Hours, a course administrator must:
• Provide information on their course date, time, location and sponsor at least two weeks before the program date to curriculum@agc.org;
• Use an AGC of America-approved instructor that meets instructor qualifications;
• Use the standard materials found in the Instructor’s Guide (including the PowerPoint); and
• Purchase a Participant’s Manual for each attendee.

Pricing
Participant’s Manuals and Instructor’s Guides can be purchased from the AGC Store or by calling 1-800-242-1767 for $145 each for AGC members and $180 for non-members.
Instructors
Individuals interested in becoming Building to LEED instructors should submit a signed Instructor Qualifications form  and resume to curriculum@agc.org for consideration.

Want More Information?
Promoting a Building to LEED course? Want to let others in your company know about it? AGC provides:
 An information flyer  that can be posted to your website, sent around your office, emailed to colleagues, etc. A limited number of hard-copies can also be requested.
 A recording of the preview webinar AGC hosted for Building to LEED on August 12 is available for Chapter use and distribution.
 View www.agc.org/green for more course information.

For more information, visit www.agc.org/green or contact Stephanie Mullins at mullinss@agc.org or (703) 837-5387.

More than a year of careful planning recently came to fruition when the AGC-New Mexico Building Branch launched the Architecture, Construction & Engineering (ACE) Leadership High School in August 2010.

This public charter school was the brainchild of the leaders of the New Mexico Building Branch, including Maria Guy, a vice president at JB Henderson Construction and past president of the Chapter, and Vicki Mora, the CEO of the Chapter.
Members of industry wholeheartedly backed the new school with funding for its planning and remodeling, including J.B. Henderson Construction, Shad James of the Jaynes Corporation, the Rick Johnson Company, Cynthia Schultz of Bradbury Stamm Construction, and many others.  The Chapter’s Construction Leadership Council helped develop the school’s curriculum.

The ACA is composed of approximately 30 individuals appointed by the Secretary of Labor. The membership includes 10 representatives from each of the following sectors: employers, public and labor.  Members of the ACA have both the experience and background that qualify them to represent the program responsibilities of their sponsoring organizations and are expected to provide a foundation for developing advice and recommendations that are fair and comprehensive.

In her invitation, Secretary Solis noted that her “immediate priorities include increasing the use of Registered Apprenticeship to develop career pathways for diverse populations and to address the increasing skilled training demands for traditional and emerging industries such as green jobs, construction and healthcare.”

This appointment places AGC on the forefront on any changes to the federal registered apprenticeship system.  The ACA is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Labor matters facing the Registered Apprenticeship System, including how to:
• Develop and promote apprenticeship in all sectors of the economy;
• Safeguard the economic security of apprentices;
• Formulate and promote labor standards for Registered Apprenticeship;
• Identify and select research and demonstration projects;
• Coordinate the various parts of the national Registered Apprenticeship system;
• Expand participation of all segments of the workforce;
• Improve cooperation between education and Registered Apprenticeship;
• Meet future skill needs in expanding areas of the economy; and
• Address broader workforce issues.

The ACA meets four times a year.

The Associated General Contractors of America’s 9th Annual HR Professionals Conference will be co–located with the 4th Annual Training & Development Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Each conference provides a unique opportunity for AGC members and chapter staff to participate in industry–focused sessions to learn innovative approaches to managing training and human capital.  The conferences will be held at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort/Scottsdale.

These events will cover everything you need to know to be successful as an HR or T&D professional in the construction industry. With expert speakers providing compliance–related guidance for HR professionals, and interactive sessions that are guaranteed to help T&D professionals sharpen your skills and solve common challenges, you will learn best practices for maximizing efficiency and effectiveness.

As an authorized provider of continuing education credits, AGC is providing the opportunity to earn these credits, which can be important to maintaining a professional designation and accelerating career growth. Participants who successfully complete the Training & Development Conference program will receive .8 IACET CEUs and/or 7.25 recertification credits towards PHR, SPHR or GPHR recertification from the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) and participants who successfully complete the HR Professionals Conference program will receive .9 IACET CEUs and/or 9.0 recertification credits towards PHR, SPHR or GPHR recertification from HRCI.  Attend both conferences to receive a maximum of 1.7 IACET CEUs and /or 15 HRCI recertification credits!

This is a great year to invite a colleague along for the experience as AGC is offering discounted rates for multiple attendees from the same organization, as well as discounts for attending both programs.

Both conferences are open to a limited number of registrants, so register today to take advantage of the $100 early registration discount.  Visit the hotel’s website to reserve your hotel accommodations for only $129 per night. 

For more information on the conferences, visit www.agc.org/hr_td.

The 2010 Advanced Estimating Academy presented by AGC of America and the American Society of Professional Estimators will be held on October 26-27, 2010, in Arlington, Va. During this two-day program, estimators will learn the required skills to take their careers to next level.

Topics include problem solving and decision making, planning, meeting management, delegation, communications, managing your time, and skills to empower the next generation of leaders. In addition, participants will review advanced take-off methods and 3-demensional modeling.  Space is limited. Learn more and register today.

This program is uniquely designed for senior and chief estimators to gain valuable training in leadership, time management, communications and advance take-off methods, and qualifies for .16 IACET CEUs.

Successful negotiating is a talent—a talent that can be improved by learning the right skills. Negotiating doesn’t mean tricks and intimidation. Many contractors and managers fail to realize that the ability to successfully negotiate isn’t a product of luck or magic or even a specific talent. The ability to successfully negotiate is a skill that can be learned. In this two–day course, participants will gain valuable working knowledge of negotiating and listening and how it will benefit their relationships, both personally and professionally

Speakers Randy Nemchin and Peter Nielson from FMI will lead this two–day course with knowledge and enthusiasm. They each have worked with hundreds of contracting firms leading customizing training and leadership development courses across the country and around the world. Both are senior members of the FMI Leadership Institute staff and will bring to the classroom their expertise in human behavior to help you learn the skills to become a more effective negotiator.

Please join us on October 19-20 in Atlanta, GA for this compelling and interactive seminar. For more information and to register, please visit the AGC website.

Are you interested in AGC’s Supervisory Training Program? Whether you have been attending, instructing or hosting STP courses for a while or are looking to learn more about this exciting program don’t miss out on the AGC of America’s upcoming Supervisory Training Webinar Series and STP Instructor Training Workshop!

Kicking off in September, AGC will be hosting a five-part webinar series for early-career construction supervisors and those looking to make a move into such a role. Each 90-minute webinar will provide a portion of the content found in STP units to provide participants with important skills that are crucial to the success of projects. Participants also have the option to purchase the corresponding STP manual as a reference when registering. The webinar schedule is:
• Leadership and Motivation for Construction Supervisors—Tuesday, September 14, 2010—2:00-3:30 PM EST
• Understanding and Managing Project Costs for Construction Supervisors—Thursday, October 7, 2010—2:00-3:30 PM EST
• Oral and Written Communication for Construction Supervisors—Wednesday, October 27, 2010—2:00-3:30 PM EST
• Accident Prevention and Loss Control for Construction Supervisors—Thursday, November 18, 2010—2:00-3:30 PM EST
• Problem Solving and Decision Making for Construction Supervisors—Tuesday, December 7, 2010—2:00-3:30 PM EST

Registrants are able to register for this webinar as a series or individually and decide whether or not to purchase the course manual as a reference. Learn more about this program here.

Registration is also open for the 2010 STP Instructor Training Workshop, Nov. 4-5 in Denver, Colorado. Instructors and course administrators who are interested in kicking off an STP course schedule at their chapter or company or strengthening their instructor expertise should attend. Additional information can be found at here. Space is limited for this program so register early!

Please contact AGC at curriculum@agc.org or (703) 837-5387 with questions on any of these programs.

AGC recently submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind & Water Power Program draft plan for workforce development for the U.S. wind industry.

AGC feels the plan, as drafted, is focused too narrowly since most workers in the wind sector of the energy industry will need core construction, manufacturing or energy industry skills with, possibly, some additional green training in order to work in the wind sector of the power-generation industry.

Among the numerous suggestions AGC offered were that the wind energy industry workforce plan be expanded and connected to larger national efforts both to engage elementary and secondary school students so they see the relevance of what they are learning in school, and to provide the public with better information on how middle-skills jobs – that need less than a four-year degree but more than a high school diploma – are crucial to the nation’s economic success.

AGC also offered the help of member firms that work in the wind energy construction sector and encouraged the federal government to include more manufacturing, energy and construction industry employers and trade associations in the development of the final plan.

A copy of both the Department of Energy’s workforce road map and the AGC comments are available online.

Building Information Modeling (BIM), one of the most exciting developments in the construction industry, is changing the way projects are built. This emerging process requires new mind sets, technologies, and practices to move the industry forward. Attend AGC’s BIM Education Program Contract Negotiation and Risk Allocation and Process, Adoption, and Integration courses on September 9th and 10th and learn the latest on the impact of BIM on contracts and risk and how to establish BIM within a construction firm.  Special offer: Registrants can bring a colleague to this course for free, see the website for details.

Attendees of Contract Negotiation and Risk Allocation course on September 9th will gain an in–depth look for both lawyers and those with no legal background at the ways the use of BIM processes and technologies can impact a project. Participants will examine the ConsensusDOCS BIM Addendum and learn what to look out for to structure their own project contracts.

Attendees of Process, Adoption, and Integration course on September 10th will gain a practical look at the steps necessary to implement BIM process and technologies on projects and within construction firms. Participants will be introduced to different theories and concepts firms have used in the past to adopt and implement BIM.

Learn more and register here or by emailing curriculum@agc.org.

October 18-20, 2010 – Scottsdale, Arizona

Registration is now open for AGC’s 2010 Training & Development (T&D) Conference and HR Professionals Conference.   For 2010, the conferences will be co-located in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the T&D Conference beginning on the morning of October 18, lasting through mid-day on October 19, and the HR Professionals Conference beginning on the morning of October 19, and concluding at noon on October 20. There will be one joint session on the morning of October 19.

Each conference offers unique opportunities for HR, training and workforce development professionals in the construction industry.

The T&D Conference will offer sessions on benefiting from the challenges of generational diversity, linking performance management to employee learning, implementing project team training, building partnerships with academic institutions, giving high-impact presentations, and more.  
 
Sessions for the HR Professionals Conference address issues related to drug testing and substance abuse management, conducting workplace investigations, analyzing the risks and benefits of modern technology in the workplace, using performance management to enhance company and individual growth, utilizing a variety of compensation best-practices in a rebounding economy, and more. 

See full session descriptions, schedule, registration, and hotel information here.

Don’t miss out on the early-bird discount; register online today.
*Hurry! Registration rates increase after September 15, 2010.