FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington D.C.— The world’s largest organization of public works professionals has worked with its longtime partner organizations to help bring together more than a dozen like-minded organizations to reduce the workforce shortage in the public works and engineering professions.

The Engineering Workforce Consortium, an offshoot of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA), the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC), and the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) collaboration on the Engineering & Public Works Roadshow, debuted last week with the public signing of a memorandum of understanding.

“I’m truly excited that this group will create the solutions we need for the future,” said APWA CEO Scott D. Grayson, CAE. “It’s a lot like moonshot thinking. These great organizations here today will come together to solve challenges with new ways of thinking to find the solutions we need.”

During Thursday’s MOU signing event, ACEC President and CEO Linda Bauer Darr and ASCE Executive Director Thomas Smith, ENV SP, CAE, F.ASCE, shared remarks. Darr showing that one-in-three open engineering jobs goes unfilled annually; Smith underscoring the importance of a fully employed engineering and public works workforces.

Like the roadshow, the consortium is a collaboration between APWA, ACEC, and ASCE. Unlike the roadshow, the consortium includes a number of organizations that represent a diverse collection of voices from government, industry, and academia:

  • ACE Mentor Program of America
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Connecticut Transportation Institute- University of Connecticut
  • DiscoverE
  • elevateHER®
  • Engineers Without Borders USA
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • National Academy of Construction
  • National Society of Professional Engineers
  • Society of American Military Engineers
  • Society of Women Engineers

The consortium’s website, https://engineeringworkforce.org, will grow as the endeavor unfolds.

EWC’s mission is to attract students and the next generation of professionals to the fields of engineering and public works, while retaining a talented workforce through programming and advocacy.

“These are ambitious goals and it’s clear that meeting these goals will demand our collective energy and determination,” said DiscoverE CEO Kathy Renzetti, CAE. “The statistics underscore this urgency and reinforce why we must work together to overcome these challenges.”

The Engineering Workforce Consortium, which sparked during an Engineering & Public Works Workforce Summit this past April in D.C., complements APWA’s Workforce Roadmap, a strategic initiative to educate, recruit, and retain a new workforce.

About APWA

The American Public Works Association (www.apwa.org) is a not-for-profit, international organization of more than 32,000 members involved in the field of public works. APWA serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy, and the exchange of knowledge. APWA is headquartered in Kansas City, MO, has an office in Washington, D.C., and 63 chapters and 97 branches throughout North America.

Contact

Mark Shade
APWA Government Affairs Media Manager
(202) 218-6736; mshade@apwa.org