Mission

Built with the intention to empower and rebuild an industry that is sustainable and boundless in nature; ConstructReach’s mission is to bring together a generation struggling to find themselves with an industry that is ready and willing to accept them. We reach general contractors and a diverse student population where they are, and create a pathway to an exciting, fulfilling, and sustainable future.

How it started

How it started

In 2006, after graduating from the Kansas State University with a degree in Construction Management, Paul Robinson joined the Target Corporation and quickly rose to become a Construction Project Manager. In 2012, he, his wife, and growing family, decided to move home to be tangible examples in their St. Louis, MO community.

Mission

In 2015, construction leadership at Target reached out to Paul with a proposition: assistance in ensuring the construction pipeline stays filled with competent employees and increasing the diversity of those employees. Paul founded ConstructReach in May 2018. His first order of business was to survey the industry landscape to garner the most current statistics and data.

From those intensive research efforts, he found:

There are very few minorities in the construction industry

Over half of the construction workforce is over age 46

44% of millennials and 49% of generation Z are non-white

The industry can better serve school counselors to educate high school students about construction opportunities

Diversity initiatives within the industry abound, but they usually serve only one stakeholder segment and are regionally based

In just over a year, ConstructReach has:

In just over a year, ConstructReach has:

Connected many general contractors to students, interns, and prospective employees

Created a ConstructReach Social Network for all stakeholders

Provided a hub for General Contractors to list jobs—and prospective employees to find them

Launched the “I Built This” Campaign in conjunction with Target store builds and remodels being done throughout the country to expose students to construction opportunities

Our Values

Outreach

Mission (1)

We seek to reach out to a diverse student population, their guidance counselors, and their parents to educate them about the construction industry and provide opportunities for internship and employment. We seek to reach out to general contractors to help them ensure there is a ready and able workforce for a sustainable future.

 

Connect

Mission (2)

Our goal is to connect people looking for a new career to the people who can make it happen in the construction industry. General contractors who join ConstructReach can post jobs, individuals can search for jobs, and everyone can communicate when they join the ConstructReach Social Network. Through connection, a vast array of opportunities emerge.

Community

Mission (3)

We desire to build a community that enables us to grow together. When we create a community of talented, inspired people and companies, the future of the construction industry is limitless. The ConstructReach Social Network brings together all of our stakeholders in an informal environment so true community can be built.