Retention and Growth of Diversity in the Industry Workforce

Against the backdrop of the spring 2023 Professional Development Advisory Board meeting, Colorado State University’s Department of Construction Management engaged faculty, staff, and industry board members to explore how to better recruit and retain a diverse workforce through a diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice workshop conducted by the Maxx Impact Group.

The workshop was informed by findings from a series of focus group sessions that the department and its DEIJ committee conducted with the students in the 2021-2022 academic year. The significance of the workshop was echoed by Professor and Department Head Paul Goodrum: “The construction industry has experienced decades of workforce shortages,” said Goodrum. “I was thrilled that industry leaders in PADB partnered with the department for discussions to not only understand how to recruit, but also how to retain the next generation in the industry.”