Dane County, Building Trades, Community Partners Team for Construction Career Fair this Friday
January 22, 2015
Joshua Wescott, Chief of Staff, 608-266-9069
County Executive
County Supported Project Known as “BIG STEP” Aims to Connect Employers
Looking for Workers with Those in Search of Work
An effort supported by Dane County and a number of community partners that aims to connect employers with prospective employees is holding a construction career fair tomorrow, Friday January 23rd.
Project BIG STEP, a partnership funded in part by Dane County, along with the Building Trades of South Central Wisconsin, are hosting the event from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Labor Temple on South Park Street in Madison.
“Dane County invests in efforts like Project BIG STEP because it’s critical that all in our community have opportunities to succeed and provide for a good quality of life for their families,” County Executive Joe Parisi said.
Parisi noted that while Dane County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, unemployment among African-Americans remains disproportionately high.
“Events like this help connect those who want to work with those who need workers, and as the economy continues to recovery there will be more building projects in need of skilled labor to get those jobs done,” Parisi added.
“There are many people that do not understand what a career in the construction trades really means. This is an opportunity to ask questions of people in the trades to discover if this is a good fit for you," said Dave Branson, Executive Director of the Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin.
WRTP/BIG STEP is working with labor leaders and employers in construction to keep businesses competitive and promote family-supporting jobs.
“With the start of what will be a very busy 2015 construction season, we thought it would be a great idea to help introduce the broader community to careers in the trades and the community partners who help make it possible,” said Mark Kessenich, CEO and President of WRTP/BIG.
###