Mayor William Peduto Signs Executive Order on Responsible Contracting
Published on July 26, 2017
Order supports qualified contractors and job training efforts
Pittsburgh, PA (July 26, 2017) Mayor William Peduto today signed an Executive Order to support the local construction industry and new job training opportunities in Pittsburgh.
The Responsible Contracting order calls for a creation of a labor-management task force that will study ways to:
- Assist new businesses that want to invest in the city
- Support redevelopment in under-served neighborhoods
- Connect reputable contractors with local construction opportunities
- Connect local residents with the training necessary to find good-paying jobs in the construction industry
The Mayor was joined at a press conference today announcing the Order with members of the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania and local developers.
The Order says in part:
Whereas, To ensure public health and safety, safeguard City resources and investments and protect consumers of construction services from unqualified and disreputable firms, Pittsburgh would benefit from developing effective licensing, procurement and economic development policies, including the use of clearly defined technical qualification and contractor responsibility standards to address the unique challenges of the industry and ensure participation by competent, law-abiding contractors and properly trained craft workers.
As for training, the Order states:
Whereas, Pittsburgh, like that of many other municipalities, is facing serious skill shortages in construction due to shifting demographics, mass retirement of baby boomers and other factors; and such shortages will become increasingly worse without proactive policy solutions, which will severely undermine the City’s ability to ensure a sufficient pool of competent contractors and an adequate supply of skilled labor to meet project needs; and
Whereas, This Administration also recognizes that, notwithstanding generally strong economic trends in Pittsburgh in recent years, there are still a substantial number of under-employed and unemployed residents who, with proper education and training, could help the City meet its demand for skilled workers on future projects.
A copy of the full order(PDF, 102KB) is available.