The Oregon Building Congress

OBC President's Message:

As Oregon Building Congress enters this new decade, it gives us a chance to reflect on where we have come from, where we are going, and, most importantly, what difference will we make.

OBC was founded nearly ninety years ago to develop apprenticeship training programs and standards that were nonexistent in Oregon. These programs are now subject to the control and direction of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and the various Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees.

With that issue resolved, OBC changed its mission to influencing educational systems to help provide our industry with a better prepared more diverse pool of future workforce applicants. It is our job to lead the next generation of craft and tradespersons who will be building the future for us and for generations to come. Currently our efforts focus on:
• Student Programs, 
• Teacher Workshops, 
• Building Futures Magazine,
• OBC's Sustainable Building Initiative, and
• the Academy for Architecture, Construction & Engineering (ACE).

OBC’s current crowning achievement has to be the Academy for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE). ACE Academy students are juniors and seniors from five school districts who have a tremenous opportunity to earn English, Math and Science credits based on actual proficiencies used in and on construction projects.

With the phenomenal success of the ACE Academy, it is clear that our mission for the foreseeable future must be to replicate this model all over Oregon and promote it in other states. This is a monumental task that will take far more than our current resources to accomplish. As an industry, we need to make an investment in the one organization that is truly preparing a better prepared and more diversified future construction workforce. Please consider investing in Oregon Building Congress where you know your investment will not only make a difference, but pay huge dividends for decades to come.

Sincerely,

Neil O'Connor
2010 OBC President  

What's Going On at OBC 

A big Thank You to all our sponsors, award winners and guests at the 2010 OBC Annual Awards Banquet! Click here to read more about the event.

Current Program Openings ...

ACE Academy now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year. Click here to learn everything you need to know to become an ACE student.

Southern Oregon Construction Academy is now accepting applications for its 2010 season! Click here to apply.

Building Futures Spring/Summer 2010 issue now available!

Learn more about construction-related opportunities throughout the region with articles such as:

• Curriculum and Instruction: Teacher Gives Overview of How ACE Delivers Its Coursework
• ACE Students Take On the CH2M Hill/OSU Bridge Competition
• Building a Workforce through Programs of Study
• And the Winner Is ... Oregon Building Congress Honors Industry Leaders
• Career Pathways: Start On this Path and the Options Are Endless
• Oregon Tradeswomen Helps Young Women Expand their Opportunities
• Assessing Today's Economic Climate
• Is Your House Constructed Like a Backpacking Tent?

Click here to view this e-issue!