Nov-2017

152 153 THE PIPELINE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION to hear and read more about the resistance of our workforce to welcome the change. If you think back to previous generations that came up through the trades, they all embraced change, but sometimes it took a while and this set us back. It is imperative that the current work force is willing to accept change so we don’t become stagnant and fall behind times in a market that is there for us to capitalize on. We must work together to capture our market share. We have a great industry and trade to market, and we must work together to fill the positions of our retirees. We must train our new apprentices to follow and succeed at building up the reputation the generations before them had as they relate to safety, quality, production, and professionalism. This market has become very competitive and the business is ever-changing. I see busy times ahead, which means there are opportunities for both the unions and their contractors to grow. With the war on talent, we need to diversify our skill sets. We must be ready to go out on the future and what it holds in store for us. As I mentioned earlier, the aging infrastructure and continuous development of the shale plays bring a lot of opportunities to the pipeline in- dustry. However, along with opportunities come challenges. The unions and their contractors must face up to these challenges together in order to get that proper lineup that’s necessary to succeed. One of the biggest challenges I see is the war on talent. The competition for the best talent is intensifying and we must all work together to build the workforce. We work in a great industry that provides excellent wages and benefits. I firmly believe that there is not another industry out there that can provide a young person the opportunities that the pipeline industry and the unions can offer. We must all continue to work together and recruit the best talent out there. We must encourage our new recruits to embrace the rapidly evolving technology. Every genera- tion goes through change, even though we seem