Today we launch Version 9 of Finishing the Job, the PGTI manual of Best Practices for a Diverse Workforce in the Construction Industry.

The first version of Finishing the Job, was created in 2013. This was and continues to be a multi-stakeholder collaborative project to collect proven strategies for increasing both gender and race diversity in the construction workforce. The manual is organized as a set of checklists for industry stakeholders. These best practices have been tested and evaluated on PGTI’s Targeted Projects which, 11 years later, amount to almost $7 billion of construction across Massachusetts. On those Targeted Projects, women have exceeded the 45-year-old target of 6.9% women’s hours and, at 27%, workers of color, have had nearly double the share of work called for in the underwhelming state goal of 15.3% “minority hours.” A comparison with data from projects across the state where Finishing the Job is not being used shows how effective these Best Practices are.

* DCAMM 2020 Annual Report

The work of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Centers and their partners across Massachusetts has increased the percent of women in union apprenticeship to 10.3%. This has been key to the successes on the PGTI Targeted Projects. The Targeted Projects are the “demand side” and the apprenticeship programs are the “supply side” of PGTI’s Integrated Supply and Demand Strategy. We think V.9’s new and improved “Checklist for Training and Apprenticeship Programs” will help the JATCs to go even faster and farther in diversifying their apprentice classes. Recent changes in federal apprenticeship regulations have strengthened the standards for greater diversity in apprenticeship. Working with those who helped revise those regulations, we have created an improved Training and Apprenticeship Checklist, one that we hope will be a model across the country, a tool that can assist Apprenticeship Programs in working towards the new federal goal of 35-40% women in construction apprenticeship. As always, we welcome your feedback and invite you to participate in future PGTI meetings where we will continue to innovate and improve Best Practices for a Diverse Construction Workforce.