McCarthy Building Companies Inc., one of the nation’s premier construction firms and largest 100% employee-owned companies, celebrated the second annual Construction Inclusion Week with a community event on Oct. 21 at the recently completed Palomino Primary School, a Title I school within PVSchools in Phoenix.
In 2020, McCarthy partnered with five other construction companies to establish the Time for Change consortium. Together, the group committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the entire construction industry. One of the group’s first efforts was the creation and launch of Construction Inclusion Week to harness the collective power of general contractors, specialty contractors, trade partners, suppliers and community organizations to drive change. More than 2,500 firms in North and Central America participated in the 2022 event.
In Phoenix, McCarthy’s team activated around the theme of “Community Engagement,” partnering with PVSchools to bring hands-on construction education to more than 100 3rd grade students at Palomino Primary School.
Activities included:
Building circuit connectivity kits that allowed the students to learn about materials that do or don’t conduct electricity (i.e. wood, plastic, metal)
Checking out construction equipment, including a Bobcat that will be on site
Having industry professionals from McCarthy read construction-related stories to expose students to the industry at an early age
“It is up to all of us to cultivate a welcoming, inclusive and accessible culture within the industry that students are excited to be a part of,” said McCarthy project director Andrea Ramos, who oversaw the construction project at Palomino. “These young students represent our future, so we’re excited to expose all of them to the construction industry and offer hands-on activities for learning in hopes that they may join our team or become community builders in the future."
McCarthy recently completed construction of the new, nearly 40,000-square-foot, two-story classroom building on campus and 21,000 square feet of renovation work, in addition to new playgrounds and play fields.
To learn more about Construction Inclusion Week visit: www.constructioninclusionweek.com.