TL;DR:

• “Spotlight Series” is back! 🥳

• Industry trailblazer Dan Garcia, President of C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., emphasizes the growing recognition of blue-collar workers and the importance of trade education, leading to successful workforce development programs in partnership with schools.

• C.W. Matthews has implemented initiatives like high school recruitment, work-based learning, and partnerships with local contractors to build a strong recruitment pipeline, already promoting young hires to leadership roles.

• The company is adapting to new technology demands from younger generations, implementing AI in estimating and bidding and exploring remote equipment operations to stay competitive and meet employee expectations.

Welcome back to Edgevanta’s “Spotlight Series”!

Through these series of interviews, I will be connecting with the brightest minds and innovators in the paving and highway industry who will be sharing their thoughts, insights, and best practices on a wide range of topics. I am Alfredo Sánchez, Founding Executive and Chief Sales & Customer Success Officer at Edgevanta.

For this fireside 🪵 chat, we are thrilled to welcome Dan Garcia, President of C.W. Matthews, based out of Marietta, Georgia. Today, we will be discussing the topic of: Workforce Development For The 21st Century Contractor: the strategy, process, and tactical ways you can implement a successful playbook for the development of your employees. So let’s get started!

Edgevanta: Welcome Dan! We appreciate you joining our Spotlight Series and are thrilled to spend some time with you.

Dan: Thanks Alfredo, glad to be here. Appreciate you having me on!

Edgevanta: Likewise! So before we jump into the topic at hand, tell us a bit about yourself and your company.

Dan: I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and lived there until I completed High School. I attended The Citadel and graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and later in my career I completed my MBA at Mercer University. I have been part of this amazing industry for 28 years; my first 17 years was with the Colas Group and the last 11 with C.W. Matthews Contracting. We are a family-owned company that was started in 1946 and has grown to be the largest Heavy Civil Contractor in Georgia. We currently have over 1,900 employees and perform grading, bridge construction, asphalt & concrete paving, water & sewer, concrete flatwork, and have 27 asphalt plants in the State.

Edgevanta: Incredible career trajectory and company growth, thanks for sharing! So the topic of conversation today is workforce development. In your world, what major changes have you seen over the past decade?

Dan: This is one of my favorite topics as my passion is for the people in this Industry. The most significant change I have seen in the last 5 years is a shift to recognizing the importance of blue-collar workers and the key role they play in our industry. Parents, politicians, and educators are seeing the importance of the trades and the benefits for young men and women.

Edgevanta: Fascinating. Tell me more about how you’ve adapted to these changes? Any strategic initiatives implemented?

Dan: First step was to hire the right team; we currently have two full time high school recruiters, and they are both amazing. A few years ago, we partnered with the Georgia Highway Contractors Association and legislators to set a curriculum for schools. As of today, I am proud to say that the program we started internally has spread to 25 schools equipped with simulators to teach young men and women our trade. Georgia has committed over $9M to support this initiative and many other contractors in the area are now involved.

Georgia has committed over $9M to support this initiative and many other contractors in the area are now involved.

Edgevanta: A big theme we hear from our ecosystem is this idea of developing a recruitment pipeline. How do you all approach this?

Dan: We have many students currently participating in our work base learning program while they attend school. In the summer we hire additional interns, and of course hire straight out of high school. I can share that in just 5 years of the program, we already have 5 young men that have moved to a foreman position in their early 20s. The key is to have connections at each school with the construction teachers, host events at the job sites, and truly care about these young men and women once they are part of our organization. In addition, we continue to also focus on hiring college graduates and members of the armed forces after they complete military commitments; both initiatives have been very successful at CWM.

In just 5 years of the program, we already have 5 young men that have moved to a foreman position in their early 20s

Edgevanta: Got it! Another major shift we hear about are the expectations Gen Z, and even Millennial employees have around investment in technology - from software, to equipment, etc. How have you all adjusted to these expectations?

Dan: As you stated, these generations are geared to utilize technology more than ever before. I feel like we may be a little behind as an Industry in this area, but we realize the importance of utilizing these tools. We have started using AI in a few places and have partnered with Edgevanta in our estimating and bidding data segment; we are excited about this partnership and look forward to the benefits it can provide. In addition, we recently had a meeting with an equipment manufacturer to explore opportunities of running equipment remotely.

The key is to have connections at each school with the construction teachers, host events at the job sites, and truly care about these young men and women once they are part of our organization.

Edgevanta: How do you track success as it pertains to workforce development? What does that look like?

Dan: We measure success by tracking retention of all our coworkers. I spend time each week reviewing termination reports to understand why we may have employees leaving us. We are also focusing on new hire orientations and ensuring that employees feel like they are part of a company that cares; one of our VPs attends every new hire orientation to share their story and our values.

We have started using AI in a few places and have partnered with Edgevanta in our estimating and bidding.

Edgevanta: Can you give our readers one example of a success story, and another example of something that didn’t go as planned along this topic?

Dan: I mentioned the success stories already; to establish programs in 25 schools and to hire over 125 high school students in the last few years has been rewarding, but not easy. At first getting the “buy in” from some of our operations leaders in the field was not easy and we lost some of our new hires; with time, they have realized the importance of creating a pipeline for the future of our company and the industry. I am so grateful for our employees that have been with the company for decades (We have many over 30 years and multi-generational families working with us) but also excited about the new talented coworkers joining the company.

Edgevanta: Thanks again so much for spending time with us Dan! Look forward to reconnecting again soon!

To establish programs in 25 schools and to hire over 125 high school students in the last few years has been rewarding, but not easy. At first getting the “buy in” from some of our operations leaders in the field was not easy and we lost some of our new hires; with time, they have realized the importance of creating a pipeline for the future of our company and the industry.

Learn more about how C.W. Matthews is Getting Georgia Home & Check out Dan’s Dirt Talk Podcast below 👇

Spotlight Series Host 🎙️

In Case You Missed It

Last Week’s Writeup:

Building Trust and Profit Through Better Client Communication

Some of my most popular blog posts:

Relentless Bidding

Good Estimator, Bad Estimator

How to Build Work at the Lowest Cost

Good Division Manager, Bad Division Manager

Coming Next Week

We’ll talk about the importance of communication in the field. Stay tuned!

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About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make software that helps contractors win more work at the right price. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]