Miki Haas, the petite first president of the Northshore Chapter of NAWIC,
had these thoughts at the time we were chartered.
(Miki, a general contractor and president of her own company at the time), says that the prevalent typecasting by most people of the construction industry nearly excludes women, and those that are included are viewed as variations of “Rosie-the-Riveter.” When on the job site, she says she’s still asked, “May I help you?” “Are you looking for your husband?” “Let me help you up the ladder.”
It is sweet revenge for her to inform the ever-so-helpful workers that she’s the boss.
“You don’t have to get dirty to work in construction.” She said. “There are positions for architects, engineers, program specialists, and estimators.”
Haas was not on a mission to debunk myths; she and other NAWIC members are more concerned about the ever-shrinking pool of skilled professionals. If current trends remain unaltered, the nation’s construction industry will face a major shortage of skilled personnel by the year 2000.
School counselors, she said, aren’t doing enough to ease this looming crisis. Young people are not getting enough exposure to the opportunities available in construction. We’re finding it difficult to find the skilled workers we need. No one is telling these kids the options available to them.
Our Chapter was chartered on June 8, 1991 and according to Haas, education was its primary objective. The Northshore chapter will education members and others in the community about the career openings in the construction industry.
One of the projects she started was to implement St. Tammany Parish in Block Kids, a building block construction contest for young students. Winners, judged by professionals from the building industry will be awarded savings bonds.
