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Commercial Construction and Expert Recruiting

At FootBridge, we know commercial construction. We also understand your space and the technical aspects of client projects. Do you get a lot of resumes that aren’t the right fit? How long does it take your internal hiring team to go through them all? Especially considering that you could receive upwards of hundreds of responses from a single ad alone. Unfortunately, finding the right people and screening resumes takes time. Time, the project management team, just can’t spare. Instead of spending weeks, if not months reviewing candidates, however, did you know FootBridge can provide you with people that are qualified in as little time as a day. In fact, we find the commercial construction people that YOU want.

The FootBridge Difference

In previous posts, we’ve spoken about cost savings, flexibility, and speed of delivery when it comes to contract placements in the commercial construction industry. And what we’ve discovered along the way are many firms are unfamiliar with staffing agencies. In fact, they’re surprised to learn we do more than source candidates. But with so many out there, how do you know what’s right for your business? At FootBridge, we work with clients to understand their problems first on a technical level and, in many cases, offer up solutions they never thought possible. Especially during the time of COVID-19, when many commercial construction projects we’re seeing tend to be of short duration. Do you hire direct and put a candidate on salary, risking a layoff further down the road? Or, do you hire them on contract for only the duration of a project that may only take three to six months?

Today, most commercial clients we work with have several projects going on at once, with bids out on more. To staff these projects requires more than a database search. Doing so takes grit, recruitment savviness, and technical know-how. Right now, for instance, there are hospitals to be built and added on to. We have government construction projects throughout the United States and commercial construction going on in schools. All these, and more, require extensive technical recruitment expertise on behalf of our recruiters, and it’s part of what sets us apart from our competitors.

In fact, one of our most significant objectives is to have an open and honest conversation with prospective clients about their wants and goals. Sure, there are qualified candidates and rates to be discussed. But before we even get to that, we want to know more about the project itself. From there, we will do our best to come up with a flexible solution based on our industry-specific recruitment expertise. If we’re not the right fit, you can be sure we’ll find someone who can help you.

We are a team of honest and hardworking individuals who care.

It’s said people do business with those they know, like and trust. At FootBridge, we also bring value to the relationship and are constantly innovating and thinking of ways we can better serve our clients. But what really makes us stand out in a crowd? Here’s what a couple of members of our sales team have to say.

“Companies consistently comment on the efficiency with which we’re able to deliver qualified candidates. Also, when it comes time for an interview, our candidates are always prepared and well informed of our clients’ business. To the core, we believe in four major principles: accountability, transparency, integrity, and excellence.”
Ray Lamonica, Client Business Manager, at FootBridge since August 2011.

Josh Avin Client Business Manager FootBridge

“Countless commercial construction managers have said our flexible staffing approach keeps their costs down and highly skilled people on the job. I talk to commercial construction companies every day. One thing they’re always blown away by is our ability to understand the big picture and provide exactly what they want, not what we think they need.”
Joshua Avin, Client Business Manager, at FootBridge since May 2018.

As always, hiring top talent is essential to the success of your business, and our team is here to help you
find the right people with unmatched expertise.

Let’s collaborate today to fill your open positions. We are ready to source your next top performer for
continued business success.

Is Smart Technology Taking Over? A Look at the Industry

Smart home technology is a trend that’s been developing for decades and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. While many view smart home technology as a recent innovation, it’s just the latest development in a long list of home-based breakthroughs. Applications such as dishwashers and microwaves provided increased automation, while the emergence of the internet introduced brand new interconnected functionality.

Smart Home Technology is Expanding

Adoption of smart thermostats and other connected devices are having a big impact on how residential electricity is consumed and what customer & utility relationships look like in the future. According to energystar.gov, “If everyone used an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat, savings would grow to 56 trillion BTUs of energy and $740 million dollars per year, offsetting 13 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions.”

In the most recent Energy Pulse study,

11% of Americans said they own a smart thermostat “that learns your temperature preferences and knows when you’re not home, adjusting settings to save energy.”
Another 32% said they’re likely to own one within the next year.
Six percent said they own a connected home system that allows them to control their thermostat, lighting, and/or appliances with a phone app.
And 31% said they plan to own such a system within the next year.

Whether renting or owning a home, smart home technology offers financial savings as well as the ease of knowing your home will always be within a temperature you’re comfortable with.

The Desirability of Smart Home Technology

It seems to be less about the energy and money savings and more about the convenience. While many smart thermostats have been sold à la carte, it’s becoming more popular to see them sold as part of a package. BI Intelligence estimates that Comcast’s XFINITY home service has 1.79 million subscribers, all paying $40 per month for home security and home automation services, including a smart thermostat (Nest or Zen), home security monitoring equipment, plus a tablet and a mobile app to conveniently control the connected systems. Comcast recently rolled out the new xFi Advanced gateway router to manage the control of additional smart home technologies. Now, customers can potentially add other applications to their smart home hub, like off-the-shelf lighting control packages, for example.

Some other major services include Cox Homelife, CenturyLink Smart Home, AT&T Digital Life, Time Warner Intelligent Home, and Verizon Home Monitoring & Control. Smart speakers are also becoming widely popular, almost as much as the specific desire for smart thermostats. A January study by Edison Research and NPR reports that 16% of U.S. households have a smart speaker, with the vast majority (69%) owning the Amazon Echo Plus, which allows for plug-and-play functionality with many smart light, lock, and wall plug manufacturers’ products. Buyers also get the popular functionality of cloud-based voice control via Alexa.

Other smart speakers & connected home options are available from major brands like Google Home (estimated to own 25% of the U.S. smart speaker market) and Apple HomePod.

The Generational Demand for Smart Home Technology

Millennials and Generation X are the leading demographics purchasing smart home technologies, with millennials being significantly more likely to utilize a smart thermostat or home energy monitoring device. Generation X is the age group most likely to purchase a “connected home system that lets them control their thermostat, lighting and/or appliances from their phone.” And with more millennials purchasing their homes and replacing old appliances, they will have an even bigger impact in the years to come. Shelton’s Eco Pulse 2015 study asked near-term homebuyers (primarily millennials) to choose the features they expect their next home to have.

Among the top responses were the following:

A smart thermostat that learns preferences and knows when you’re home and automatically adjusts (36%)
Smart (connected to a mobile app) appliances (32%)
A home automation platform with an app for controlling the smart thermostat, lighting, blinds, and security system from a phone (24%)

How Energy Consumption is Involved

Smart home technology offers a homeowner more control over day-to-day energy use. Some of the most popular devices used include:

Smart thermostats that automatically adjust a home’s climate according to the time of day, regional electrical usage, outdoor weather conditions, and many other factors.
Intelligent ovens that use next-generation thermal engineering and advanced automation to reduce both the overall energy consumption and the amount of time it takes to prepare food.
Smart lighting that instantly turns on when someone enters the room and turns off when they exit. These systems usually feature scheduling and automation for even greater efficiency.
Water-saving showerheads that also track the total amount of water used and other important metrics that help you reduce your bills further.

These devices also transfer to business use.

Solar panels and clean energy are considered the most common features in smart and sustainable homes. While they’re more popular in certain regions, they offer a solution for homeowners and businesses alike.

Are Electric Cars the Future? Facts and Analysis

Moving forward with a bigger push towards electric cars is not just a goal that would bring our economy closer to being eco-friendly and help in the fight against climate change, but it’s also a reality many businesses want to be a part of. But the speed of this change — and the role that standard combustion vehicles will play during the transition — is far from clear.

“Electrification, you cannot stop it anymore — it’s coming,” says Elmer Kades, a Managing Director from the consulting firm AlixPartners. “We have fantastic growth rates, between 50 and 60% on a global level.”

Electric vehicles currently make up a small fraction of the auto market, which is still dominated by internal combustion engines. While more electric car models will hit showrooms over the coming years, there are several factors that have analysts convinced this is all part of a big transition in the industry.

Around The World

Government policies — particularly in Europe and China — are supporting electric vehicles, as they are helping not just the disastrous impacts of climate change but are also improving air quality in the cities where they are used.

Auto companies around the globe are preparing for what will be a large financial commitment. Car manufacturers are planning to invest more than $90 billion in the shift to electric vehicles over the next decade or so, according to a Reuters analysis.

Electric motors are simple compared to combustion engines, which makes them easier to maintain and means they should last longer. Keeping them charged is more cost-effective than buying gas, which is an advantage that will become even more important if gas prices rise.

Analysts see the possibility for strong sales of these efficient vehicles to enable smart grid management, but the local impact of electric vehicles has yet to be experienced. Electric vehicles provide a natural use for solar energy, a pathway to push more local solar power onto the grid, and a source of resilience for when the power goes out.

This transformation requires prompt attention to policy and planning. Electric vehicles may have an impact much sooner than the 40-year lifetime of traditional resources, or even the 15-year timeframe of resource planning. The increasing number of electric cars in the U.S can impact utility plans within their current planning timeframes. This means that action needs to happen now for the rollout to be successful.

Increasing Electric Vehicle Sales

Sales for electrical vehicles are increasing and costs to manufacture are decreasing, which is making forecasters believe that electric vehicles will be largely rolled out to the public by 2040. Electric grid managers will also have their work cut out for them — they’ll need to account for the impact of electric transportation and accommodate a large number of vehicle adoption forecasts.

Prospective car buyers will also consider the long-term opportunity, as the total cost of electric vehicle ownership becomes comparable to gas-powered cars. Already, avoided scheduled maintenance and fuel costs are likely to save electric car drivers as much as $10,000 compared with owning a comparable internal combustion vehicle.

Why Buy an Electric Car

Regardless of where you live, electric vehicles are cheaper to fuel than traditional gasoline-powered cars. Electricity providers in the 50 largest U.S cities offer a rate plan that makes filling up on electricity cheaper than gasoline, adding up to a median yearly savings of over $770.

Electric cars can also offer monetary savings on maintenance costs. Battery-run electric cars have no gasoline engine, don’t need oil changes, spark plugs, or timing belts, and unlike gasoline motors, electric motors don’t require routine maintenance.

These reduced maintenance costs can save an electric car owner over $1,500 over the life of the vehicle, compared to a gasoline-powered version of their vehicle.

Even if the electricity used to fuel an EV comes from a dirty coal-dominated grid, EV’s still produce less global warming pollution than their conventional counterparts. The average EV in the U.S produces the emissions equivalent of a gasoline car that gets 73 miles per gallon. And, the emissions performance is set to only improve as wind and solar power replace coal-fired electricity. Many electric vehicle owners are also choosing to pair their EV with rooftop solar panels and home energy storage units. When powered by renewable energy, an EV can operate nearly emissions-free.

What to Expect This Year

Expect the push and momentum of electric vehicles to reach a new level this year. Tesla is expected to have a big year with its Model Y, as deliveries are expected to start and General Motors, Kia, Hyundai, Audi, Porsche, and many more will also be introducing or expanding their fleet of EVs. With an emphasis on clean energy, it’s no surprise to see electric cars expanding so quickly.

These new offerings aren’t quietly slipping into the market either, as we’ve seen previously. Look out for compelling, long-range, affordable vehicles available for customers in the coming year.

Energy Sector Outlook for 2020 and Beyond

In a world where resources are being replaced by new and improved solutions every day, we can be certain that one thing will always be necessary: Energy. It doesn’t matter if it’s renewable or not, there will always be a demand for energy. Where there is demand, someone will supply. This process creates jobs, which is awesome. It’s one of the reasons why there are so many jobs in energy right now. However, this industry is about to be flipped on its head with the rise of renewable energy. What can we expect from such sweeping changes in one of the largest industries in the world? Let’s take a look!

Where We Stand With Energy

If we want to properly analyze the energy industry, we must first examine where it currently stands in terms of electricity usage, cost, and other things that determine the amount of demand. We should also take a look at the current amount of jobs and salaries within the industry to see how the supply is looking.

Currently, in the United States, we consume roughly 3.9 billion kWh per year. That is the second-largest figure in the world annually, only behind China. One kWh of energy costs 12 cents on average across the US. Overall, the US spends more than $1 Trillion on energy each year or about $3,500 per person. This shows there is clearly a LOT of demand in the energy industry, especially in the US.

How about the amount of supply? Annually in the US, we produce just over 4 billion kWh of electricity, fairly similar to the amount of energy we consume. However, that is still a lot of electricity, and someone has to produce that. How many jobs are created by the energy industry? According to the 2019 USEER, there were 6.7 million Americans employed in energy in 2018. That’s a significant number, especially when you consider that the workforce itself is 147 million strong. The industry is also reportedly growing by 2% each year, meaning even more jobs for Americans. This is important in an industry that historically is one of the higher-paying industries around. The average salary for an electric utility worker is $70,000. Over $10,000 more than the average salary in the US of $56,000.

Where Are We Heading?

With the expected growth of the industry set at 2% per year, it’s fair to question which jobs stand to be replaced in the near future. The US will move towards more renewable energy, it’s only a matter of time. Currently, 11% of our energy in 2018 came from renewables. That’s without mentioning that there’s a major uptick in the number of cars on the road running on electricity. By 2050, 100% of our electricity is expected to come from renewables. In an industry with almost 7 million people, that can cause some major disruption.

Despite the average growth of the energy industry as a whole, the energy efficiency sector is surging as the fastest-growing sector in the US at 5.3%. In total, there are 2.3 million jobs within the energy efficiency sector, clearly, a figure that stands to increase quickly. Unfortunately, renewable energy is not seeing the same type of job growth due to a lack of quality talent within the sector. In the past few years, job growth has remained stagnant in renewables. The hope is that moving forward, more talent will join the field and push it further along. As the figures stated before, it’s certainly an industry in high demand.

Takeaways

The energy sector as a whole is, and always will be, in extremely high demand. Right now, it is going through some extreme changes that will change the landscape forever. While the entire industry is growing at an average rate, energy efficiency seems to be dominating and should be something to monitor in 2020 and beyond. This deep dive helped to show that while there are major changes happening right now in the energy industry, there is nothing to be worried about. Job growth is high, salaries are high, and the outlook for 2020 and beyond is electric.

Nuclear Energy Focus of Global Conversations

Shortly before the new year, several of the world’s most renowned climate scientists penned an open letter to their most respected colleagues in the environmental movement. The topic: reversing longstanding opposition to nuclear power. As time goes on and new discoveries come to light, these climate experts agree that wind and solar energy alone simply will not be enough to fend off extreme global warming. Instead, top scientists are urging environmentalists to support the development of safer nuclear power as a viable method for cutting down fossil fuel pollution.

Fortunately for the future of nuclear power, barriers between nuclear energy advocates and antinuclear environmentalists are beginning to fall. Both sides are starting to recognize that not only do they share a common rival, but they also share many common goals. Environmentalists that have long opposed nuclear energy are reevaluating their position while many pronuclear advocates are reevaluating their learned aversion to environmentalism, both as a result of deep concerns regarding climate change.

Today, nuclear energy is broadly recognized by scientists, scholars, and analysts as an environmentally positive technology with in fact many environmental benefits. Solar, wind, and efficiency energy sources are unable to scale up fast enough to deliver the amount of inexpensive and reliable power the world needs. With global warming on the rise and carbon dioxide emissions intensifying at alarming rates, we simply cannot afford to turn away from any sort of technology that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases.

The scientists behind the open letter acknowledge that there are slight risks associated with using nuclear power; however, they are far smaller than the risks posed by extreme climate change. The vast majority of climate scientists agree that pollution from fossil fuels has increased global temperatures over the last 60 years and emissions need to be drastically reduced to prevent more extreme damage in the future. Experts agree that the solution is to clean up and invest in our nuclear power plants.

With nuclear power plant construction and rebuilding on the horizon, the future continues to look bright for professionals in the energy sector. FootBridge Energy works hard to ensure they are always on the cusp of new energy industry developments so they are consistently able to offer their clients and candidates the best professional guidance in the field. If you are interested in learning more about upcoming jobs in nuclear power, contact the experts at FootBridge Energy today!

Commercial Construction and Expert Recruiting

The FootBridge Difference