This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Industrial Projects Report. Read the magazine in full here.
Consider the upside to the construction industry’s current skilled labor shortage — an unprecedented number of high-paying, meaningful jobs that don’t require a four-year degree or taking on tons of college loan debt are open to skilled craft professionals across the country.
For young people starting out, veterans transitioning to civilian life, or those looking for new careers, the current labor shortage amounts to a tremendous opportunity. Jobs in construction offer high pay with shorter, less expensive training. These positions provide flexibility and the opportunity to find work close to home or travel the country and live in new areas. And because skilled craft professionals are boots-on-the-ground for the development and expansion of new technologies, modernized infrastructure, and clean energy advancements, jobs in construction also offer a way to make a real difference for the success of our country and future generations.
Skilled craft careers with Day & Zimmermann (D&Z) are no exception. As a leading craft employer, D&Z attracts workers to the skilled trades by training them to work safely with first-time quality and providing enough opportunities for long, satisfying careers contributing to the country’s pursuit of energy independence and infrastructure modernization. Members of our workforce are at the forefront of significant opportunities not just to land work but also to improve in their trade, assume leadership roles, or even apply their skills in a new industry. Our people are on the front lines of bringing big ideas to life for a diversity of companies in a variety of power and industrial markets, including existing and advanced nuclear reactor technology, coal, gas, hydro, and solar energy as well as advanced manufacturing, semiconductor, and data centers.
Powering Rewarding Careers
D&Z is one of the largest family-owned companies in the U.S., specializing in construction, engineering, operations and maintenance, staffing, and security and defense for leading corporations and governments around the world. We maintain our country’s existing power plants and support construction of new nuclear reactors and renewable energy sources like solar. We also back some of the largest industrial manufacturers to secure the domestic semiconductor supply chain and build facilities that will make the next generation of electric vehicles in America.
To get this important work done, we annually fill more than 12,000 open positions for craft disciplines spanning welders, ironworkers, pipefitters, crane operators, millwrights, carpenters, scaffold builders, boilermakers, electricians, insulators, laborers, equipment operators, riggers, machinists, painters, valve technicians, radiation protection technicians, and other skilled workers. We’re making it easier for these skilled workers to find thousands of available jobs at our sites across the U.S. and Canada, and we’re committed to making sure D&Z is a place where people don’t just come to work, but to thrive.
Fostering a Safe, Inclusive Workplace
Safety is our number one value. We implement industry best practices, use innovative safety technology, and annually achieve zero-injury performance at numerous sites. We recently refreshed our Why Not Zero?® safety campaign, focused on achieving and maintaining zero injuries across all the sites where we work, as an extra measure to return our workforce home to their families safe and injury-free at the end of each shift.
Just as diversity abounds in craft disciplines with many different jobs for many different people, diversity abounds at D&Z too. Our leadership and teams make every effort to embrace diverse voices and foster innovation, creativity, and inclusivity. We work hard to create a work environment where everyone feels valued, empowered, and included.
Providing Training and Growth Opportunities
D&Z partners with trade schools and community colleges on worker-training programs. We’re accredited with and use D&Z-employed National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) administrators to provide ongoing craft training and to standardized curriculum with portable credentials. We use hands-on learning in the classroom, on-site, and online using our own e-learning platform.
We also connect veterans with resources to transfer their military experience to new careers as they transition into the civilian workforce. D&Z is a designated ‘military friendly employer’ through NCCER’s Hard Hat Heroes program, which allows veterans to apply their military training to receive free construction credentials.
Generating Career Pathways through RAPs
Beginning January 1, D&Z is implementing a new Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in South Carolina and Virginia to develop new employees with the skills needed to be proficient in roles at sites in the states. The eight craft disciplines available under the RAP include electricians, mechanical insulators, painters, pipefitters, millwrights, scaffolders, riggers, and welders. Plans are underway to expand the program to North Carolina and other states in 2025.
The RAP provides apprentices with the required hours of classroom instruction utilizing NCCER curriculum and on-the-job training each year of their program. D&Z is the sponsoring company to employ the apprentice, establish the related training instruction, and provide the on-the-job training hours required. Employees finish the program with Certified Journey Worker status in their chosen craft and benefit from:
- Paid employment during on-the-job training with progressive wage increases.
- Opportunity to learn specific skills needed in the construction industry.
- A more secure career and the ability to adapt to new job requirements.
Connecting Skilled Craft to Jobs
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Our DZ JobLinX mobile app makes it easier and faster for skilled, craft professionals to find available positions across the country that meet their schedules and skillsets. DZ JobLinX is like Indeed for skilled craft professionals. Not only does it let job seekers know what openings are available to them, but it also alerts them to hiring events in their area, allows them to sign up for upcoming outage and training opportunities, and gives them easy access to recruiters who can answer their questions about careers in our industry. DZ JobLinX is available for download in the Apple App Store and the Google Play App Store.
Join us!
America needs skilled craft professionals to execute a host of construction projects that will improve our infrastructure, help us gain energy independence, and ensure that our country continues to grow and prosper. Working with D&Z as a skilled craft professional involves you in meaningful work while earning a great wage and building a life-long career in the craft disciplines.
Money doesn’t build modern America, people like you do! Contact Day & Zimmermann today.
- Visit dayzimopenshop.com, follow Day & Zimmermann Open Shop Craft Labor on Facebook,or call 888-605-0272.
- Get more information on D&Z’s Registered Apprenticeship Programs by emailing your contact information to DZMC@dayzim.com with “RAP: Tell Me More” in the subject line.
- Contact Antonio Ruiz (USN-Retired), D&Z’s veteran recruiting manager, at Antonio.Ruiz@dayzim.com or call 757-805-5198 for information on D&Z’s veteran resources.
- Download DZ JobLinX the Apple App Store or the Google Play App Store.