Increased economic activity in downtown Miami has prompted the development of Miami Worldcenter, an area the size of ten city blocks containing new condos, restaurants, shops, hotels and a convention center. The challenge has been filling the numerous construction jobs that offer opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers.
Miami’s ABC affiliate, WSVN-TV, recently featured a story entitled “Building a Future: Construction firm offers jobs to people looking for a second chance”. Their correspondent, Jessica Holly, caught up with Henry Crespo, Sr. of The Development Firm. According to their website, TDF is a full-service diversity and inclusion business, workforce and economic development firm.
Second Chance Opportunities for Work Abound
According to the U.S. Labor Department, around 290,000 jobs in the construction industry remain unfilled. In downtown Miami, TBD has stepped in to assist construction project managers in finding candidates who are willing and capable of filling those openings. According to Crespo, “Whether it’s in Overtown, Little Haiti, Little Havana, we work with the churches and community organizations. We have a group of candidates that come in that have never picked up a hammer in their life.” And men aren’t the only people who are building Miami Worldcenter—women are also finding areas to offer their skills and learn new trades. One example is a hair and nail salon worker whose previous job included manicures, eyelashes, hair and makeup, but now earns twice as much by caulking and grouting tile.
The entire project currently employs about 6,000 workers, with more expected to be hired before completion in 2021.
More information about jobs at Miami Worldcenter can be found here.
Read the whole story at WSVN-TV’s website by clicking here. Image above courtesy of WSVN-TV.
