Diversity-Informed Construction Leadership Training

As construction’s labour shortage problems continues to grow, the need across the industry for effective, diversity-informed construction leadership training has never been greater.

The convergence of Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) agendas with the historic shortage of skilled trades people has quickly and drastically moved talk of diversity, equity and inclusion in construction beyond the realm of progressive branding and culture-building, into a strategic necessity to ensure critical building projects are completed.

As with all organizational change, creating truly inclusive construction workplaces requires commitment and consistent action from leadership at all levels of the business – from the lead hands to the CEO. 

A while back, Arrowhead President Sean Reid offered his perspective to Kim Slowey for this ConstructionDive.com article on why effective diversity-informed construction leadership training programs (that actually get implemented) are so important to the North American construction industry. His insights still apply to the market conditions of today.

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…top-down initiatives and pledges must consist of more than a written policy, said Sean Reid, president of Arrowhead Coaching and Facilitation Solutions. Giving lip service with no follow through calls into question the overall integrity of the company and says to employees and stakeholders that it does not live by the words it promotes, he said.

“It’s counterproductive for a company to go to the trouble of developing a diversity plan and then stick it on a shelf to gather dust,” Reid said.

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Reid, the business consultant, said programs like these contribute to and support the recruitment of workers into the company and help retain workers and increase productivity.

“Most importantly, they send a message to the broader business community and to the broader stakeholder community focused on construction that this industry is open to all who want to participate in it,” Reid said. “To those people who want to be part of building our cities and our communities and our infrastructure.”