Hopefully you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to charge into 2024! DCA’s committees are coming out of the gates strong as we kick-off the New Year. This week the Education and Training Committee, Chaired by Jim Ruggiero, EDIS, covered a lot of ground. In particular, the committee spent time reviewing what education and training opportunities would best serve DCA’s members in the coming year and how best to deliver those opportunities. Things have changed in the education and training world post Covid. There is more to be offered online and some construction companies have expanded their in-house training efforts.

As a critically important committee in our dynamic association, the committee members recognize the changes and are keeping what we are best at while seeking input from our members as to where they can benefit from new programs or delivery methods. There was a lot of brainstorming and thinking outside the box but it’s our broader membership that we really get the direction from. Following, our December “Ask the Experts EMR Reduction Strategies meeting led by Education and Training Committee member Brian Phillips, Willis Towers Watson, a survey was provided to attendees seeking their input. The responses suggested training ranging from Job Hazard Analysis to understanding contracts to Spanish language for general construction.

In 2022, DCA held a highly successful Trenching and Excavation Hazards in Construction training course funded by an AGC grant. This year, we will again benefit from an AGC grant allowing us to provide a free Fall Prevention in Construction training scheduled for next month. AGC also provides additional online training opportunities through its AGC Edge courses. Upcoming courses include:

Construction Supervision Fundamentals

Project Manager Development Program

Lean Construction Education Program

Advanced Safety Management Training Program

Building Information Modeling Education Program

The members of the Training and Education Committee contribute their time and expertise to DCA’s membership. They are the ones who are working to ensure your workers have the skills they need to be safe and to excel whether it be in the field or in the office. DCA’s Training and Education Committee, which also addresses many Human Resource issues, is both fun and impactful. Our member companies are filled with highly experienced staff whose contributions would be welcomed. If you have someone you would like to add to the committee, please let Mary Sheldon know at msheldon@e-dca.org.