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Politics

New Website Launched to Put Florida Construction Industry Back to Work

September 20, 2010 - 6:00pm

Looking to revitalize an industry badly damaged by the economic downturn, the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) launched a new website Tuesday to serve as a storehouse of information for contractors and construction workers in the Sunshine State.

Hoping that the new site will revitalize their industry, leaders of the FHBA unveiled reConstructFL.com at a media event in Tallahassee, which they hope will be a one-stop website to help pave the way for economic recovery in the Sunshine State.

Its no secret that Floridas construction industry has been devastated by this recession, said FHBA President-elect Al Zichella of Naples-based K.D. Merick and Co.

These are crucial times in the construction and design industry, said Cam Fentriss, the director of Building a Safer Florida, which provides training for contractors.

Firmly disagreeing with reports this week that the recession is over, Zichella pointed to a report that almost 332,000 of the 1,084,000 unemployed Floridians worked in the construction industry before they were laid off. He also pointed to the states continuing high unemployment rate. According to a report released last week by the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the unemployment rate in Florida was 11.7 percent in August -- well above the national average of 9.6 percent.

There is no such thing as a jobless recovery, said Zichella. We need to put the construction industry back to work to get our economy moving again; reConstructFL.com can play a major role in that effort.

Funded with the help of Workforce Florida, the new site allows access to information on job opportunities, training programs and government-backed programs.

It provides training, education, job positions and, most important, direction, said Kristen Marsella whose Marsella Homes, Inc. in Port Charlotte will use the site.

Kurt Morauer of the Employ Florida Banner Center for Construction in Gainesville said the training aspect of the site will help Florida when the economy recovers.

Demand will be immediate and very large, said Morauer who added that the state needs trained construction workers. We dont have those skilled workers in Florida.

The site also contains information on how contractors can tap into government-backed projects -- including some originating from the federal stimulus package.

Some call it stimulus, said Zichella. We call it survival.

Zichella conceded that the FHBA, which endorsed the entire Republican ticket for the state Cabinet office, generally prefers free-market-based solutions, but added that the site is an information outlet.

Gabe Sheheane, who handles governmental affairs at the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said the site will help revitalize the construction industry, traditionally one of the cornerstones of the Sunshine States economy.

The goal is to help keep the doors of Florida construction businesses open, he said.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.

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