Performance Matters

One of the common misconceptions in construction is that skilled tradespeople are regularly out of work for a long time. This myth can affect our performance and motivation and put a damper on attracting new talent to the industry. 

Have you ever been told “You’re working yourself out of a job!”?    

If you’re an experienced tradesperson, you know this is not what happens. 

When tradespeople work hard, we earn a living for ourselves and our loved ones.  And we also build our network, reputation, and skills, increasing demand for our services. 

NCC members are never working themselves out of a job. Instead, they’re working themselves into their next job.  

More work, more diverse work, and better work - that's the NCC career pathway. 

Showing up on time and putting in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay provides the predictability and reliability contractors and owners need. They can work with that.  

The more predictable and reliable the crew, the better management can plan the project, and the better the productivity scores become. Those productivity measures have a positive impact on future bids and increase the likelihood of NCC contractors winning more work for our members. 

On shutdown maintenance its simple: contractors who don’t get the job done on time don’t get the next shutdown. Slow-walking a job to get a couple more days of work comes at the expense of the next 45-day shutdown. Remember: we are constantly working our way into the next job. 

On long-term maintenance, clients have budgets. Some of those budgets are discretionary. That means site managers get to choose how to spend that money. When making those choices they want to have confidence they will get value back. Being predictable and reliable means members will carve out more work that might go to the owner's internal workforce. Trust brings unique projects and other initiatives. We are not working out of a job on long-term maintenance, but working for more work, often even on the same site for the same NCC employer. 

Skilled trades shortages are a real problem for owners and contractors. The myth of long periods of no work are not reality for NCC members because we deliver the skills and talent along with reliability, predictability, and trust in partnership. We do it before, during and after work. And that builds careers to be proud of. 

Sam Emke, Vice President Business Development