Robinson+Cole’s Construction Law Group hosted its first industry-wide, virtual roundtable on the topic of diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) on September 17, 2020. The program grew out of an earlier Roundtable conversation and focused specifically on strategies and techniques to promote diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Recognized diversity & inclusion program leaders across the northeast area from government agencies, construction industry organizations, contractor and sub-contractor firms, suppliers, and architectural and engineering firms joined the closed-panel, working-group discussion.
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Robinson+Cole Hosts Fourth Construction Industry Roundtable
Robinson+Cole’s Construction Group hosted its fourth— but first ever virtual — Construction Industry Roundtable on July 14, 2020. Representatives of major design and construction industry organizations and stakeholders in the Northeast were in attendance to discuss the state of the regional market and to look ahead for trends to watch for 2021.
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Summary of the Second Construction Industry Roundtable Discussion
Building upon the success of last year’s event, on May 31, 2018 Robinson+Cole’s Construction Group led the Second Construction Industry Roundtable Discussion at its Hartford office. With a variety of representatives from major Connecticut construction industry organizations and other industry stakeholders in attendance, the participants discussed issues affecting the construction industry in 2018 and beyond.
With 2018 being an election year in Connecticut, the discussion began with a question posed to all attendees about anticipated outcomes and impact of the gubernatorial election in November. All agreed that, while the result of the election remains difficult to predict, the next governor will inevitably be required to address continued challenges with the state’s economy as a whole and the burden of state government personnel costs specifically. Several expressed concern as to the State’s perceived unfavorable climate for doing business. As an industry particularly susceptible to influence by the current economic climate, it was agreed that good news for the economy and business growth would certainly be good news for the construction sector.
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Robinson+Cole Hosts Industry Leaders Roundtable Discussion
On August 30, 2017 Robinson+Cole’s Construction Practice Group held its annual Retreat at the newly completed Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford. The Retreat featured an Industry Leaders Roundtable discussion session with representatives from many of the major Connecticut construction industry organizations. The discussion was moderated by Construction Group Chair Greg Faulkner and led to a lively discussion on various issues affecting the construction industry. Here are some of the highlights:
The first topic of discussion focused on what attendees viewed as the most significant challenges facing design and construction service providers in the immediate future. All in attendance agreed that the shortage of young professionals and tradespeople embarking on careers in the construction and design industries was an issue of serious concern. It was pointed out that Connecticut is unique among many of our neighboring states in that it provides options to young people considering a career in the construction industry through trade schools, which feature an academic curriculum in addition to skills education, and the fact that public high schools are increasingly adding trade-skills-based education back into their regular curricula. This was viewed as good news by all. On a related note, those in attendance reported positively on the increased presence of women in the construction and design industries, particularly the trend of more women entering the industries as young professionals and advancing in seniority to managerial roles.
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