Sarabeth Gandara, Preconstruction Manager at U.S. Engineering Construction, participated as a panelist in the education seminar “Bridging the Workforce Gap” at the 2024 Mechanical Contractors of America Association (MCAA) Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla. She joined panelists Brian Helm (President, Helm Group Inc) and Rory Olson (President of Building Services, MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions) to talk about the future of the workforce in mechanical contracting. Andrew Palcan (Project Manager, Helm Group) moderated the conversation.

While covering a wide range of topics, the panelists leaned toward one solution to the workforce supply issue: internship programs. They agreed that companies challenged with labor supply now should consider starting or expanding an internship program, which promotes organizational development at all levels: interns are immersed in company and industry culture, gaining hands-on experience, and staff gains management experience and the chance to introduce the next generation to mechanical construction.

No stranger to workforce development, Sarabeth is a member of the MCAA Career Development Committee and interned with several construction companies throughout high school and college before joining U.S Engineering. We asked her to highlight some points from the panel discussion.

USE: The conference program laid out some points your panel would talk about, starting with the question of when to start the process of hiring an intern. When should you start the search?

Sarabeth Gandara: Early! The best time to start recruiting interns is early fall when campuses hold career fairs. The goal should be to sign up your interns before their Christmas break. And be sure to follow up whether or not the candidate is a fit for your company—don’t ghost your prospective interns.

Historically our industry has been slow to hire interns, often missing out on talent because they wait too long to make a job offer. Something we talked about on the panel is being bold enough to take risks on hiring interns. Contractors have a great advantage in hiring their interns for full-time positions: they’re already familiar with company culture and workflow, and they potentially have already proven during their internship that they can do the job.

Another topic was perks. Are companies offering interns the right stuff?

Often, not quite. Students who attended this panel discussion, for example, talked about wanting housing assistance to be included in their internship packages, which makes a lot of sense. These students are moving to cities they may not be familiar with, just for a few months, and housing can be hard to find in that situation.

What about connection? Are companies speaking Gen Z’s language when they send out offers?

Back to the students in the room during this panel, many mentioned culture. More students lately are talking about cultural fit and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. U.S. Engineering is definitely talking about our culture and wanting people to feel like they can be their authentic, best selves at work, and other companies affiliated with MCAA are having that conversation, too.

More on connection, you and the other panelists talked about leveraging MCAA to create networks.

Yes! MCAA as a collective can more effectively pitch our industry to students than a single company can. We always say that fellow MCAA member companies aren’t “the enemy”; we can help each other make connections for our own professional benefit, but also for the benefit of our industry and the next generation.

So in this session the panelists encouraged companies to really use MCAA resources and events like this convention to connect with students. Talk to them. Help them start building their networks. Your network is your superpower! You need it for support, and if you start building it early, you can make connections that will help you later in your career.

Finally, speaking of resources, this panel discussion offered contractors in attendance some MCAA resources. What’s out there for mechanical companies looking to start or grow an internship program?

The MCAA’s Internship Guide Resources are a great starting point. I was fortunate enough to help develop this series of one-pagers that companies can use to learn about best practices, how to reach out to potential interns, and how to know where to place interns into their workflows based on intern experience. (It’s called the “Hot Sauce Guide.” Check it out.)

Bonus: what was your favorite session at this year’s MCAA conference?

There were so many great ones this year! Like “Applying AI in Construction” on Monday, which featured AI Keanu Reeves. But if I’m forced to choose I’d say “Preparing MCAA Members for an ESG World.” As more construction companies are talking about the Environmental, Social & Governance framework, I found the discussion interesting. What stuck out to me: the notion that in many cases people don’t care as much about what the actual numbers add up to in an ESG report. They care that the companies know the numbers and that they’re talking about these topics.

All photos courtesy of MCAA

Sarabeth Gandara is a Preconstruction Manager at U.S. Engineering Construction (USEC) in Denver, Colorado. She is heavily involved in planning and recruiting for USEC’s internship program. She is a member of the MCAA Career Development Committee and is committed to helping students find their fit in the construction industry.