Celebrating construction careers
Careers in Construction Month honors craft professionals
During Careers in Construction Month we are honoring construction craft professionals and the entire construction workforce.
“We want to thank all of our essential workers who have been working tirelessly throughout this year,” said Bree Knick, associate director of Construction & Renovation Services. “ Despite all of the challenges COVID-19 has given us, our workforce has adapted to a new normal in stride.”
UVA Facilities Management is made up of approximately 700 employees in construction roles, including trades workers, project managers, engineers, architects and more. This includes 400 frontline trades in licensed, non-licensed, support and apprentice positions within Construction & Renovation Services, Health System Physical Plant and Operations.
“It has been inspiring to see everyone rally together to rework and rethink projects when our focus shifted to getting students back safely,” said Knick. “In addition, everyone has been dealing with their own adjustments to a ‘new normal’ outside of work. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort that everyone across all Facilities Management teams has put forth over the past eight months.”
The construction industry is one of the nation’s largest industries, employing more than five million individuals in the United States, according to a proclamation by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam in honor of Careers in Construction Month. The construction industry was deemed an essential industry in mid-March at the beginning of the pandemic, and Virginia was the first in the nation to adopt statewide COVID-19 workplace safety guidelines.
It’s estimated that 1 million craft professionals will be needed nationwide by 2023, according to Build Your Future, an initiative founded by the National Center for Construction Education & Research to support construction industry recruitment.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu