Steve Duvel | Gilbane Building Co. senior vice president
Steve Duvel, senior vice president of Gilbane Building Co.’s New England division, oversees more than 365 employees in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
As a hands-on leader, Duvel is directly involved with new hires, especially candidates for senior-level roles. He says the company is aggressively working to boost diversity in its workforce and educate students as young as those who are in middle school about job opportunities in construction.
1. Are there any construction hiring trends that you’ve noticed as we begin to come out of the pandemic? We are seeing a lot of activity across our industry and increased competition for talented people. At the same time, many people are taking another look at their current careers and reassessing whether they’re on the right career path. At Gilbane, we’re well-positioned to attract the best talent in the industry, offering many different career paths along with the industry’s most inclusive and comprehensive benefits package.
2. What are the industry’s needs right now in terms of labor? Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen some of our most experienced members of the workforce retire, others have left the industry, while fewer new workers have joined. It is so important that we continue to attract more people in our industry and shine a light on the many opportunities that exist. Industry and community outreach are significant tools that we employ to spread awareness of opportunities, as well as promoting the benefits of working in the construction industry. There is an abundance of opportunity to recruit, train and build capacity in the workforce, particularly with respect to diverse, disadvantaged businesses.
3. Are training programs across Rhode Island turning out enough skilled workers? Rhode Island offers many great trade programs, but interest has decreased recently. We have had great success finding talent through our long-term relationship with the ACE Mentor Program. Gilbane’s chairman and CEO, Thomas Gilbane, personally oversees the company’s participation with the program. We have also participated in PrepareRI and YearUp to increase opportunity in both construction and technology career paths. We are doing our best to spread the word that construction provides a lucrative and rewarding career.
4. When you are looking to hire someone, what makes an ideal candidate? We are looking for those individuals that align with our foundational core values [such as] integrity, caring and teamwork. And look for problem-solvers who communicate effectively and think inclusively in everything they do. We have a saying in Gilbane, “We hire for character, and we train for competency.” Just because you don’t have a construction background, does not mean that you can’t work at Gilbane.
5. How would you assess Gilbane’s efforts to increase hiring of women and minorities? We strive to be an industry leader in promoting a workforce enriched with employees of all backgrounds and perspectives. Gilbane sets a goal to have 50% of our entry-level, new hires to be women and/or racially or ethnically diverse. We partner with many associations … to recruit diverse candidates. Gilbane can also provide a unique path into the construction trade through G.O. Services. Founded in 2011, G.O. Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilbane. Active in 21 markets across the country, G.O. Services is comprised of a highly skilled and diverse workforce possessing a variety of construction skill sets. Our active strategy is to train and transition G.O. Services workforce employees into career paths within Gilbane Building Co. G.O. Services is comprised of 48% people of color.
6. How successful has Gilbane been in working directly with local high schools to make kids aware of the opportunities the industry offers? Gilbane considers educating local high school and even middle school students about careers in the construction and design fields as a responsibility, as well as a passion. We have had great success finding talent through our long-term relationship with the ACE Mentor Program. Since 2000, Gilbane has mentored hundreds of students from 18 states and 43 cities across the U.S., encouraging students to pursue a career in construction, architecture, engineering and in the construction trades.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
