Last month, the utility Southern Co. sent its primary contractors a letter quizzing them on their level of worker training. The questionnaire is Southern’s first step toward prequalifying and hiring only contractors who invest in worker training. The Construction Users Roundtable recommended the initiative at CURT’s annual conference in Orlando in early February.

CURT’s Labor Risk Management (LRM) Program asks owner members to hire only contractors that commit to spending a percentage of the total contract value on recruitment, retention and workforce training, including through unions. CURT expects owners will help pay for the training. “We are owners, and we have an obligation to invest in people,” said Ed Luckenbach, manager of field execution for Air Products and Chemicals.