Celebrating Two Important Pre-Construction Season Events

While we eagerly await the arrival of spring and a challenging 2020 fades rapidly in the rear-view mirror, the D.A. Collins Companies are getting ready to shift into high gear for our most favorite time of the year: Construction Season.

Other sure signs of the approaching busy season are two important weeks in the construction industry—

Engineers Week, which took place this past week, February 21st through 27th, and Women in Construction Week from March 7th through 13th.

NSPE Engineers Week

Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), Engineers Week, or EWeek, is “dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.”

EWeek highlights include the Future City Competition® for middle school students and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day®.

For many years, the D.A. Collins Companies has proudly fabricated the awards for the Albany, NY Future City Competition®. This year, we’re proud to share that a young woman participating in the BOCES Student Learning Experience in our welding shop is assisting with the job.

Women in Construction Week

Women in Construction Week is an important annual event for the D.A. Collins Companies. WIC Week focuses on:

• highlighting women as a viable component of the construction industry,
• raising awareness of the opportunities available for women in the industry,
• and emphasizing the growing role of women in the industry.

According to the most recent statistics from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), women comprise only 10% of the overall workforce in the construction industry.

While the D.A. Collins Companies’ workforce generally runs ahead of the national stats, we know there is still considerable opportunity. We’re dedicated to career development for women in the construction industry, and we have company-wide initiatives focused on mentorship, recruitment, training, community outreach, and industry outreach.

Investing in Our Future

There is still a very real lag in focusing students on opportunities in the skilled trades and STEM education.

Engineers Week and Women in Construction Week share a common theme: introducing young students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors to the opportunities available in the construction industry.

Partnerships with regional technical institutions like Capital Region BOCES are a great starting point in raising career opportunity awareness and providing students with hands-on experience.

Additionally, events like Future City Competition® facilitate our interaction with an even younger, middle-school-aged audience.

We look forward to furthering our outreach to students and educational partners and demonstrating the tremendous opportunities for young men and women alike in all facets of the construction industry.