With training, one can take advantage of trades   by I-Witness (Barbara White) "In My Shoes" is a yearlong series dedicated to giving visions to those seeking opportunities to strive for a better

quality of life. I hope that you have enjoyed I-Witness being in the shoes of workers at McDonalds. Of course, I was the best "fry girl" McDonalds ever had, Holla! Our month long series at Goodwill Industries received great response. Even I-Witness was unaware of the many things Goodwill Industries does in our community.

Manpower's new offices currently under construction (B. White photo)

As I have stated in past articles I have lined up many jobs that will provide quality of life salaries for the coming months.

We know that not everyone will go to college. Not everyone can see himself or herself doing four years of college. There are jobs out here; we just have to be trained for them. So I am focusing on jobs that are family sustaining with minimum training. I will also note those jobs that do require education and that also teach you how to run your own business.

This segment of "In My Shoes" will be in the trades. Yes I-Witness was a construction worker and I found out a few things about myself. I am not in shape and I was not meant to be a construction worker! Holla! However, I also found out that if it is for you, it could be very rewarding.

Presently, welders and machinists are needed to fill over 800 jobs throughout Milwaukee County. While many do not look at the trades as being glamorous work, these jobs are essential to keeping our economic and society operating and you are compensated well for your work (The big pay check).

Also, the knowledge obtained in the trades will allow you to do more then the average Joe when it comes to repairing and fixing things, plus these jobs can be very personally rewarding. For those who like working with your hands and mind, this may be the career choice for you. I learned construction workers are like artists. They construct and build things that leave a beautiful mark on our society.

I connected with Linda Sowell of the Gilbane Building Company. Gilbane is one of the largest privately held family-owned companies in the construction and estate industry and they are committed to providing complete facility solutions to all their clients. Since 1873, the company’s stability and emphasis on client advocacy has helped customers reach their goals.

Gilbane is comprised of two companies; Gilbane Building and Gilbane Development, the two companies often work in concert to provide integrated expertise in the areas of finance, development, planning and construction.

The Gilbane Building Company deals with construction management, facilities consultation and program management. The Gilbane Development arm deals with development, project management, real estate strategic planning, acquisition and investment.

The vision of Gilbane, according to its CEO and President, Robert V. Gilbane has been to serve the public, private, and non-profit sectors by developing and implementing strategic real estate programs that meet their clients’ facility needs.

"Our long-term perspective as owner-developer of millions of square feet in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States gives us the insight and experience necessary to create maximum value for tenants and investors," said Gilbane.

"As a Gilbane Inc. company, we provide clients the financial strength and stability of a privately held construction and development company in its fourth generation of family management with more than $2 billion in annual revenues."

Gilbane said the company’s multi-disciplinary teams and vertically integrated approach enable them to sort through the complexities of developing real estate and add value at every phase of the project. "We assess ownership and financing options, permit hurdles, tax liabilities and incentives, municipal and environmental regulations, and multiple, overlapping occupancy alternatives.

"We start with a clear definition of your needs and objectives. Then we review the opportunities with you, develop a streamlined plan with logical steps, and commit to delivering the project as planned.

"With Gilbane, you have an experienced partner with the in-house expertise and resources to structure and deliver your real estate needs. Acting as your single point of responsibility, we assemble and manage the project team and deliver integrated, full-service solutions that maximize the value of our client’s assets."

The services Gilbane, Inc. provide are numerous. They maximize returns while at the same time minimizing risk. They untangle the complex web of variables, delivering client-driven solutions.

That is what their clients want and that is what Gilbane delivers. The company prides itself on offering turnkey solutions to a broad range of real estate development needs in the most streamlined, cost-efficient manner – from strategic planning to delivering a comprehensive development program.

The company works closely with municipalities to navigate permitting hurdles and negotiate economic incentives, strategize with clients on how they can structure the best financing and ownership solutions to free up capital, produce higher returns, and reduce risks.

Whether you as a customer represent a Fortune 500 company or a non-profit public organization, they can structure a delivery program that works best for you. Through their public/private partnership program, they have helped municipal governments and educational institutions meet their facility and financial objectives by combining the efficiency of a streamlined development process their comprehensive understanding of financing and delivering public facilities.

Gilbane Inc. has managed projects all over the nation. The company has the ability to pull all the pieces together to make the project happen. For example, if you own a window installation company in which someone else install doors using your items. Gilbane will subcontract with you for that part of the project. They do the planning with the customer giving them their vision. Gilbane then draws up the idea and the construction begins.

This is where the worker comes in. Not all aspects of the contract are business to business. Someone has to do the work. Gilbane Inc. does some hiring depending on what skills are needed on a particular project. Many times the workers may come with a company that the management team has contracted.

In most cases, they seek workers in the trades. The trade workers usually come through unions and in order to work on any of the major projects where the money is paid, you must have what is called a journeyman’s cards or belong to a union. Having the card shows you are skilled in your field of expertise. How you acquire these construction skills, you will see later on down the line in the series, in which I-Witness went in to be an apprentice.

There are numerous job opportunities in the building and construction industry, they are not just jobs. One can make a career out of construction. There are numerous career and job opportunities one can latch on to in the trades. Some of the support jobs essential to any building project are: boilermakers, brick layers and allied craftsman, carpentry, cement masons, electricians, elevator constructors, heat and frost insulators, iron workers, operating engineers, painters, plasterers and plumbers. The list is long, but we will get more into the other trades once we become an apprentice.

I hope you found the information I just shared useful in understanding what a management company is and its importance in a building project. Of course, I did not know much about the building management companies or a lot about the trades either until I became a worker for the day. Next week, join I-Witness and Linda Sowell as we work on the Potawatomi expansion project and the Manpower project. It was an experience!