WRTP/BIG STEP, along with several partner agencies, will be hosting a Latino Construction Job/Career Fair on Tuesday, April 30, 1-4:00 at Centro Hispano on Madison’s south side.
“We did this last year and I thought it went really well. What we try to do is to be the pipeline for the skilled trades and construction. We’re intentional about trying to involve communities that aren’y always represented in the trades,” Bill Clingan, WRTP/BIG STEP’s South Central Wisconsin Program Coordinator, tells Madison365. “ We were at Nehemiah a few weeks ago and now we’re partnering with Centro and a few other Latino organizations to do this Latino Construction Job/ Career Fair.”
Construction is booming right now in Madison and there are many family-supporting jobs that are available.
“What’s happening is that the economy for construction is going up, up, up and at the same time the demographics of Wisconsin have changed so that we’ve become an older state. The workforce of today and tomorrow – just by definition and demographics is going to be much more diverse. So we’re trying to help the industry tap into that labor force,” says Bill Clingan, who supervises and coordinates WRTP/BIG STEP’s workforce development programs, state and public level education, program development, community and neighborhood partnerships, and public relations work.
“Pepole can go into IT [Internet Technology], manufacturing, health care, and other things,” he adds. “We’re just trying to say, ‘Here’s another option.’”
The Latino Construction Job/Career Fair is a chance to meet contractors looking to hire a diverse skilled workforce, talk to professionals who work in the skilled trades who will answer questions, and to find out about free training opportunities. It will be a fun event but also productive in starting folks in great careers in construction.
“I know that [County Excutive] Joe Parisi is going to come down and say a few words at the event,” Clingan says. “Of course, [Centro Hispano Executive Director] Karen [Menendez Coller] will be there and we’re trying to get the mayor [Satya Rhodes-Conway] there for the kick-off.
“We have about a dozen contractors that will be there and six skilled trades that will be there,” Clingan says. “It should be an interesting day and we’re hoping a very helpful resource for community members and employers.”
For more information about this event, call Bill Clingan at (608) 255-0155.
