A memorandum of understanding between the two organisations sets out a determination to ensure employment opportunities emerging from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are open to people from all backgrounds.
The legislation, passed last year, includes approximately US$1 trillion in new federal investment in America’s roads and bridges, airports, rail and transit, water infrastructure, resilience, broadband access, and more. It is estimated that these investments will add around two million jobs per year over the course of the coming decade.
The US construction sector is facing a serious skills shortage. A recent study by management consultant McKinsey found that 402,000 construction vacancies were unfilled at the end of October 2021, the second-highest level of unfilled positions since data collection began.
The McKinsey report also noted that 88% of the US construction workforce is white and 89% is male.
Hill International believes that making the construction workforce more representative of the population as a whole will help attract talent to the industry. In particular, the company wants to work with the National Urban League to improve access for African Americans and other historically under-represented groups.
Hill International and the National Urban League hope to offer federal government agencies joint project management oversight for hundreds of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act projects about to get underway.
Hill’s chief executive, Raouf Ghali, said: “Inclusivity is one of our company’s core values. Creating a working environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed improves employee satisfaction, sparks innovation, and delivers inclusive growth.
“The record investment by the US federal government in infrastructure has initiated huge demand in the sector and will create thousands of new job roles.
“We need to make sure those opportunities are open to people of all backgrounds and I am delighted to be working with the National Urban League to make that happen.”
“Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League said: “We are excited by the opportunity to bring more diversity to the construction workforce, a sector that has struggled to attract African Americans and other under-represented groups in the past.
“I am confident, working with Hill International and federal agencies, we can ensure taxpayer money is helping to create new, highly skilled jobs for all Americans.”
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