WASHINGTON – The Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) announces two all-new courses designed for Ironworker Contractors, scheduled July 15 – 18 in conjunction with the Ironworker Instructors Training Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“Project Management” and “Bidding to Win,” IMPACT’s new courses, are designed both to train future construction industry leaders and to help contractors grow their business operations. With these courses, IMPACT hopes to help fill the thousands of Ironworker jobs needed to repair and renew the nation’s ailing infrastructure in the coming decade. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job boom will be driven by the “need to rehabilitate, maintain or replace a growing number of older highways and bridges.”

“We train Ironworkers specifically to complete the kind of large, challenging projects that North America needs to build,” said IMPACT Labor Co-Chair Walter Wise. He added that, while Ironworkers are trained, skilled and ready to work, Ironworker Contractors must also ensure their competitiveness with efficient operations to increase their capacity to grow. Wise is General President of the Iron Workers Union.

Many Ironworker Contractors are part of the Baby Boomer generation and are grooming Gen Y employees as their successors. Demographers sometimes refer to Gen Y as the “echo boom” because of the large size of their generation compared to Gen X. By 2020, more than fifty percent of all employees in the United States will be part of Gen Y, which is loosely defined as the generation of individuals born between 1980 and 2000.

“With the shortage of Gen X workers in the construction industry, it is vital that we maintain continuity in our leadership through innovative courses like these,” said IMPACT Management Co-Chair Bill Brown. Brown points out that it’s also vital to maintain superiority in management and construction technique throughout the industry. “These courses are top-notch in terms of reinforcing project management and bidding skills among veteran and new contractors alike.” Brown is the President of Ben Hur Construction Co. in St. Louis.

Expert construction industry consultants from FMI will lead “Project Management,” July 15 – 16, while IMPACT’s Cindy Quiroz will lead “Bidding to Win,” July 17 – 18.

About IMPACT:The Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) is an independent labor-management partnership designed to create work opportunities in the North American ironworking industry.  Our primary mission is to provide a forum for Ironworkers and signatory contractors to discuss effective strategies to expand job opportunities through innovative labor-management cooperative programs.  IMPACT provides expertise in training, construction certifications, marketing, construction project tracking and bidding, insurance and Davis-Bacon compliance efforts.  IMPACT also administers a world-class substance abuse program to ensure that Ironworkers are safe, drug-free and ready to work.

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