At the Ohio Contractors Association (OCA), we often speak of strength – in the infrastructure we build, the challenges we tackle, and the relationships we forge. Today, I want to speak of another kind of strength: The power of unity and shared purpose.
Specifically, I want to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to each of our members who have invested time, energy and resources into supporting OCA’s workforce development efforts. Your contributions – both monetary and personal – are not only generous, they are also essential.
They make possible the programming offered by OCA that introduces young people to the rewarding careers available in our industry. You have made funding possible through OCA chapters and our Advancement Foundation for hundreds of thousands of dollars toward scholarships. Our co-sponsored website, IBuildAmerica-Ohio.com, was created as our digital landing pad for those seeking online information about construction careers.
OCA has been able to provide greater awareness of what a construction career entails through presentations to students and influencers via jobsite visits; targeted outreach where contractors and apprentices can “tell their story;” as well as career fairs that include equipment demonstrations incorporating machines our members voluntarily provide. In addition, our special events such as Big Machines at COSI, the Student Estimating Competition and Constructor For A Day bring the heavy/highway industry to life for those that attend. All these offerings and more are provided because of the support you provide.
With these efforts we are recruiting the next generation of construction professionals that will meet Ohio’s future infrastructure demands. We know that workforce development is not an overnight project, it’s a long game, requiring patience, persistence and vision. And it’s clear that OCA members understand this.
Over the past years, your involvement has helped elevate our presence in high schools, trade schools, career tech centers and workforce development conferences. Each opportunity allows us to demonstrate that construction is a job that calls for a highly skilled, respected individual who has found a rewarding career for life.
But we cannot merely reflect on what has been done. It’s about what we’re doing together. Workforce development is not the responsibility of a single committee, staff member or school. It is a shared effort. I know many of you are working in these same institutions to recruit your corporate transportation professionals of the future. Your willingness to step forward proves that OCA is not just an association of contractors, it’s a community that cares about its future – and about the people who will carry our legacy forward.
As we look ahead, I encourage each of you to stay involved. Continue to be ambassadors of our industry. Share your stories. Support our workforce initiatives however you can. Because what we build today – in classrooms, workshops and minds – will be the foundation of Ohio’s infrastructure tomorrow.
Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for believing in the power of workforce development. And most of all, thank you for investing in people. Together, we are building more than roads and bridges. We are building futures.