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Home Special Sections Home

BUILDING OUR LIVES

December 6, 2017

Silhouette engineer standing orders for construction crews to work safely on high ground over blurred natural background sunset pastel. heavy industry and safety at work concept.

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Construction brings infrastructure and career opportunities

by Sandy Griffis, Executive Director, Yavapai County Contractors Association
Hi – let me introduce you to the construction industry and the folks who grind and labor in it. We live and work in the silhouettes and outlines of Yavapai County-sized skyscrapers known as multi-story buildings; we travel through streets lined with homes and local businesses and buildings under construction. The majority of you probably move through our roads and communities unaware of the vast industry responsible for shaping the environments in which we live and work – the industry that has built America.
Who are the construction folks, you ask, working in a very dynamic segment of our economy?
There are more than 700,000 construction companies in the U.S.
There are over 7.3 million construction employees/workers in the U.S.
There are 37,298 licensed construction companies in Arizona
There are more than 2,000 licensed construction companies in the 863 zip code
Construction is the second largest industry in the U.S. with more than $1 trillion in total volume, accounting for approximately 8 percent of the nation’s GDP. It is the industry responsible for constructing the buildings and infrastructure so vital to the quality of life.
There are many misconceptions about the construction industry. What today’s construction industry is not: artless, basic, boring, unfulfilling, thankless, routine, predictable, unchanging, dull.
In my eyes, the construction industry is interesting, moves at an ever-changing pace, is tricky, challenging, rewarding and well-paid.
Activity in the industry is picking up and has been for sometime. Our industry remains critical to the job market, especially for workers without college degrees.
A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the industry will add 1.6 million jobs through 2022, which is a relatively high growth rate among sectors, but which still would leave total construction employment below housing-bubble peak levels.
Are you aware the construction industry is traditionally divided into three sub-sectors? They are:

  • the construction of buildings
  • roads, highways, and other infrastructure construction
  • specialty trades

You can see that the construction industry is a significant part of our economy; it touches everything from Fain Road, Hwy 89, Hwy 89A, Hwy 69 and all of the arterial roads in our communities. Without construction we would not have airport runways, bridges, and interstate. Every building; our City Hall and Town offices, our schools from PUSD, HUSD, Chino Valley, our churches and synagogues, Sprouts, Safeway, Trader Joes, our homes, movie theaters, restaurants from El Gato to The Barley Hound to St. Michaels, hotels from our Hampton Inns to Marriott Courtyard to SpringHill Suites and the Hassayampa Inn.
Are you aware that concrete has been important to construction for centuries, going back to 3,000 B.C. Without it, very few construction projects could be started and completed. In the U.S., concrete as a construction material made its debut with the construction of the Erie Canal in 1825, the first shipment of Portland cement into the country in 1868, and the opening of the first Portland cement plant three years later in 1871.
Just like our life, we have a lot of years we can see in the rearview mirror, and we need to keep looking ahead and that is what the construction industry is doing. We are going to see more collaborative approaches for projects such as design-build, public-private partnerships and integrated project delivery.
The labor shortage is at epidemic proportions. Our local contractors are extremely concerned about the lack of skilled labor, and many local contractors are struggling to staff their businesses.
This lack of workforce started after a huge massive employment labor force left the industry for other jobs during the recession when work disappeared from 2006-2010. The industry lost close to 50 percent of its workforce and it has not returned. The dwindling labor pool is leading to longer delays in project schedules, and construction costs will rise due to materials and labor.
The construction industry is a terrific opportunity and offers well-paying jobs. And we have lots of jobs available in Yavapai County. There is, and will be, a continuing demand for construction industry workers – there are excellent employment opportunities because the number of job openings will exceed the number of qualified individuals seeking to enter the occupation.
Where would we be without construction?

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Prescott Living Magazine
LOCAL NEWS: The Northern Arizona VA in Prescott has provided an update on their Homeless Veteran Program. . . .PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System’s Homeless Veteran Program, along with its community partners, housed 445 Veterans in 2022, exceeding their target goal by 157%.Nationally, the 2022 goal was to house 38,000 homeless Veterans— a goal that was exceeded by 6.3%. The Department of Veterans Affairs remains committed to ending Veteran homelessness and increasing housing placements is critical to achieving this goal.“This success is a result of efforts built on the evidence-based ‘Housing First’ approach, which prioritizes getting a Veteran into housing, then provides the Veteran with the support they need to stay housed,” said Steve Sample, Medical Center Director.In Northern Arizona, there are a variety of services designed to house homeless Veterans. The VA’s Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program includes VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers that provide formerly homeless Veterans with subsidized housing and a wraparound, interdisciplinary case management team to address issues that may have contributed to homelessness. The program provides justice outreach services, employment services, health care services through the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team, outreach, and transitional housing support. The VA also works closely with community partners to house homeless Veterans through a system called Coordinated Entry, where community agencies along with the VA regularly meet to coordinate efforts and ensure homeless Veterans do not fall through the cracks.“We are fortunate that there is so much support for helping homeless Veterans in our area,” said Jessica Taylor, Homeless Program Coordinator for the Northern Arizona VA. “This success could not have been possible without great collaboration between our community partners, Housing Authorities, Tribal partnerships, and support from our local communities.”Looking ahead, the VA will continue to explore new avenues to house homeless Veterans and overcome housing barriers. In collaboration with U.S VETS, Gorman & Company, and the Arizona Department of Housing, a supportive housing project on the grounds of the VA’s Fort Whipple campus is in the initial planning stages. The VA is also expanding outreach to ensure that homeless Veterans are aware of services available to them. For Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness— or if you know of homeless Veterans in need of assistance, call 877-424-3838.For more information on renting to or hiring homeless Veterans, visit: www.va.gov/homelessAbout the Northern Arizona VA: Through its main campus in Prescott, along with Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Cottonwood, Flagstaff, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Anthem— with additional clinics in Tuba City, Page, Kayenta, Chinle, Holbrook, and Polacca, the Northern Arizona VA provides services to approximately 33,000 Veterans over a catchment area of more than 65,000 square miles.. . .www.facebook.com/VAPrescott ... See MoreSee Less

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Empty Bowls of Prescott Arizona has announced that it will distribute $24,000 to local foodbanks! Their 2022 Empty Bowls fundraising event took place in September, and donations can be made year round on their website.prescott-empty-bowls.square.site ... See MoreSee Less

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