Building What’s Next by Challenging Myths

Groundbreak 2020 was capped off with a closing keynote by Procore’s Director of Industry of Advancement, Sasha Reed, on how the construction industry can challenge the myths surrounding workforce development.  

As the head of Procore.org, Procore’s social impact arm, Reed works with her team to build partnerships and programs that facilitate the donation of Procore’s technology, implementation services and educational content for free to nonprofit builders, university professors, and union training centers. The Procore.org team also supports Workforce Development programs that are designed to attract the next generation of construction professionals.

The closing keynote brought together construction industry leaders to identify some of the most common myths surrounding the “talent gap” in the industry, and how their programs are tackling those myths head on.

The panel included Dr. Jim Sullivan, Undergraduate Program Director and Senior Lecturer at the Rinker School of Construction Management at the University of Florida, Diana Eidenshink, President of the ACE Mentor Program, Erin Volk, VP of Workforce & Community Development for AGC of CA’s Build California program, and Paul Robinson, Founder & CEO of ConstructReach.

The discussion covered topics of preparing the future generation of construction professions by focusing on "soft skills" such as leading through self-awareness, the myth that recruiting at the college level is enough to create widespread change, and the idea that people "fail into" a career in construction.

By presenting alternative narratives to popular stereotypes, the keynote provides viewers with actionable steps that can be taken immediately.