Job Outlook for California
We are working for economic security, protecting access to health care and supporting the sign industry in California.
Key Points of Interest
A study from McGraw-Hill Construction looked at the number of green jobs in the building design and construction workforce, and found that 35 percent of architects, engineers and contractors report having green jobs today, representing 661,000 jobs. Also from the report is the projection that carpenters, electricians, HVAC workers and other trade jobs are expected to grow the fastest, rising to 25 percent of jobs in three years, from 15 percent today.
Kohl’s department store, which has long been committed to green buildings, aims to have 300 LEED Gold stores built by the end of 2012, and 500 built by the end of 2015. Any company interested in bidding on signage for Kohl’s should be well versed in green building practices.
Marriott has edged closer to its goal of 300 LEED-certified hotels by 2015 with its announcement that its Courtyard, TownePlace Suites and Residence Inn have all earned LEED Volume pre-certification. The prototype for the Courtyard hotels expects each building to save $100,000 in upfront costs and will pay for itself in less than six years. Any company interested in bidding on signage for the Marriott should be well versed in green building practices.
OTHER KEY POINTS
Some of the prevalent themes relevant to ISA from an industry perspective were:
- Increased collaboration between building codes ( IgCC, IBC), standards (ASHRAE, ANSI), and rating systems (LEED, CalGreen)
- Movement away from the words “green” and “sustainability” to language like “high performance”, “net zero”, “risk & waste management”, and “efficiency/cost reduction”.
- Vast increase in technologies and services catering to various sustainability certifications and measurement tools – both on the product and the facilities sides.
- Several products of interest to the sign industry – mostly in energy efficiency (both of facilities and electric sign products), paints & coatings, and flexible faced digital displays.
Teresa M. Young has been a consultant to entrepreneurs since 1986, in both retail and B2B sectors. In 1991, she became President of Sign Biz, Inc., a full-service business development company. Young sits on multiple boards, including as Past Chairwoman of both the International Sign Association (ISA) and California Sign Association. She is an accomplished code writer, web developer and contributor to the Git Repository. Young is also an in-demand speaker, engaging business owners with topical and powerful business insights and strategies in support of best business practices and modern marketing strategies under her MintyWorks and Coffee with T brands. 200 click-and-mortar enterprises were established under the Sign Biz business model with more than $19,000,000 worth of SBA-backed funding for these businesses.