AGC teamed up with the Progressive Policy Institute to conduct an analysis of current federal funding levels for career and technical education compared to four-year degree programs. That study found that while only 38 percent of Americans earn a 4-year degree, 80 percent of federal post-secondary education funding goes in support of those programs. The remaining 62 percent of the workforce is supported by only 20 percent of federal training and education funds. The report also identified a series of state policies that it encouraged federal policy makers to emulate.

AGC then worked with the Progressive Policy Institute and our allies on Capitol Hill to release the study’s results during an in-person briefing at the Capitol Visitor Center. The event was attended by dozens of staffers from both Democratic and Republican offices. It would also have included members of Congress except for a late announced visit to Capitol Hill by President Trump. The release of the report was also covered by ENR and other trade media.

We partnered with the AGC of Ohio, the Ohio Contractors Association, the Idaho AGC, the AGC of Connecticut and the AGC of California to run targeted digital advertising campaigns to help recruit new workers into the industry. Each campaign identified key audiences the local industry was trying to recruit into the industry. We then helped the chapters create and distribute digital marketing content that went exclusively to those audience groups, and their households, promoting careers in construction. The ads were linked to chapter recruiting pages that provide pathways into construction careers. The ads have experienced higher than average click through rates, and firms have seen double the usual number of resumes coming to their job postings during the campaigns.