Forging Alliances

Mentoring is an age-old tradition frequently involving someone more senior who provides support, encouragement and guidance to the learner. Mentors are often experienced individuals who go out of their way to help a mentee reach important goals. Mentors also benefit, by increasing their networking contacts and building their confidence. Effective mentoring does not require large amounts of time, but it does require the dedication of both parties.

Statistics show that women perform 2 percent of the 4.84 million “hands-on” construction jobs in America. The percentage rate was the same 20 years ago -- as women are entering skilled trade jobs at approximately the same rate as women are leaving skilled trade jobs. In an effort to change that percentage, the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) has created its own mentoring program. The program, a first-year effort by NAWIC’s National Mentoring Committee, was developed to help new members excel. Established members form alliances with other members, helping them realize a higher level of professionalism.

The mentoring program is just one of the many ways NAWIC is getting involved in the construction industry and in local communities. Construction- and education-based agreements between various entities have provided NAWIC with the opportunity to forge alliances that promote women, construction and education to the public.

Since the founding of Habitat for Humanity International in 1976, the successful organization had built more than 150,000 homes worldwide, providing 750,000 people in 3,000 communities with safe and affordable shelter. While celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2001, the organization set an ambitious goal to build 100,000 more homes by 2006. Knowing Habitat could not achieve this lofty goal without tapping into additional building resources, the organization -- through its Women Build department -- started targeting women's groups and organizations to enlist their help in achieving its five-year goal. With their shared interest in promoting construction, NAWIC and Habitat signed a partnering agreement to work toward this goal.

If Women Build provides opportunities for involvement, then NAWIC certainly delivers on its volunteer commitment. By combining the vision and organization of Habitat with the chapter and membership resources of NAWIC, Women Build and NAWIC are making a difference in the lives of families who may not have ever realized the dream of home ownership.

The partnership between Women Build and NAWIC is just one of many examples of how chapters and members are joining with other organizations and associations to promote the construction industry in an effective and innovative way. Since NAWIC signed its first partnering agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1993, the Association increasingly uses partnerships as a means to exert its muscle and influence, while working together with other organizations.

In 1993 and 1998, NAWIC signed agreements with two of the most influential and powerful trade associations in the industry -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The partnerships have made it possible for these two organizations to tap into the resources of an overlooked sector of the work force: women. Perhaps more than anything, the partnerships between NAWIC and ABC and AGC have helped educate men about the enormous benefits of women working in construction and how they can be an important resource in addressing the trade-worker shortage.

One means of addressing this shortage is by introducing children to the many career opportunities in the construction industry. Young people and education are certainly two of the primary emphases of the partnering agreements NAWIC seeks with other associations. Because of the industry shortage of skilled trade workers, organizations are finding that combining its resources with NAWIC chapters and members is an effective formula to get students thinking about and committing to a career in construction.

NAWIC has achieved many successful results by partnering with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in hosting Career Days events all over the country. While the official partnering agreement with FHWA was signed in 2003, the two groups have been working together for the last five years. In 1999, NAWIC was involved in FHWA’s first Construction Career Fair held in Lewisville, Texas, attended by 1,300 students and teachers representing 25 schools and 15 districts. FHWA and NAWIC both offer scholarships to help students become educated about the construction industry.

Due to the success of this event, “Construction Career Days” has spread throughout the country. Events have taken place in more than 20 states. Organizers recognize the pressing need for such events to help recruit students into construction. By the year 2008, there will be an estimated 952,000 vacancies of construction skilled trade jobs. And the industry will need more than 1 million new people each year thereafter.

NAWIC hopes to help meet this need, by furthering its mentoring program, building upon its alliances with construction- and education-based entities and aligning itself as the premier association for women in construction. This year, NAWIC celebrates its first 50 years. The Association’s core purpose is to enhance the success of women in the construction industry.