500,000 Jobs are ready to be filled right now in the American construction industry

ABC's Annual Impact:

  • $1.1 Billion invested by ABC members in workforce training
  • 476,000 people trained

Many Pathways to Training for Success

At Associated Builders and Contractors, we believe in building people through the merit shop philosophy: that projects and personal advancement should be awarded based on performance, skill and achievement. ABC has been setting the standard for safety, quality and integrity in the construction industry since 1950.

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800 Programs

70 ABC Chapters

Nationwide

Education

  • Our flexible, affordable craft and safety training leads to industry-recognized, national credentials for today’s leading construction positions. Together, we help individuals train, transform, and triumph as they pursue meaningful careers that advance their potential and build strong communities.

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    skilled trades

  • Founded in 1991 by ABC and leading contractors, NCCER is the industry’s source for craft training, assessment and certification. Today, NCCER develops standardized curricula and industry-recognized, portable credentials for more than 70 crafts that have been used in all 50 states and in 20 countries.

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    industry recognized credentials

  • ABC’s affiliated construction management schools are a dynamic network of universities and colleges offering post-secondary degrees that prepare students for success in construction project management.

    Construction
    Management Info

Safety

  • ABC members work to establish a culture that is passionate in the belief that all accidents are preventable and train the workforce to that culture throughout their careers. Member firms at the highest level of performance in ABC’s Safety Training Evaluation Process are 670% safer than the industry average.

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    ABC's safety performance

Diversity

  • Hosting an annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit, recognizing member firms for diversity leadership at the National Diversity Excellence Awards and creating Diversity Resource Groups (DRG). DRGs bring people with common interests and characteristics together to help articulate, promote and support the needs of certain constituencies. Each group has a leader who is dedicated construction industry’s workforce, workplace and marketplace from the perspective of a single demographic faction, and participation is open to all members of ABC.

    Diversity Resources

Veterans

  • Though veterans account for 23 percent of trade and craft professionals at ABC member companies, more service men and women will be able to translate their skills into high-wage construction careers through connections to GI Bill education benefits, alignment with military training that fast-tracks qualifying for NCCER credentials, free online courses and more.

    Veteran
    opportunities

Best of the Best

  • The Construction Management Competition challenges undergraduates from ABC student chapters across America in construction knowledge, time management and organizational and presentation skills. CMC champions are aggressively recruited by prospective employers as high-potential future leaders.

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    about CMC

  • The National Craft Championships draw some of the nation's most talented craft apprentices and journeymen to showcase their skills and compete on a national level, highlighting the important role that skilled trades education plays in the construction industry.

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    about NCC

Building America

  • ABC, its 70 chapters and its 21,000+ members are doing their part to train craft and management professionals using innovative and flexible learning models like just-in-time task training, competency-based progression, work-based learning and government registered apprenticeships to build a safe, skilled and productive workforce.

    Policymakers must commit an all-of-the-above strategy for workforce development where workers and employers have the freedom to choose the best way to provide value and build America.

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    Building America