Grade Tech’s David Barlow, Alex Goodwin, and Franklin Barlow attended the first-ever Ariat Dirt World Summit 2023 which was held from Oct. 25-27 in Houston, Texas. The summit, which was sponsored by Ariat International footwear and clothing, was developed by BuildWitt to bring the “Dirt World” together to discuss and solve the pervasive issues facing the industry today.
The Grade Tech crew was among more than 750 industry leaders who gathered to tackle issues related to workforce development, particularly how to solve the workforce shortage. While demand for infrastructure work is increasing, the construction workforce has unfortunately diminished by approximately 40%. Many of the summit sessions were focused on this workforce dilemma, bringing the industry together to join forces to solve the issue.
David Barlow, Foreman of Operations, said that the Grade Tech attendees brought back a lot of information, ideas, and energy from the event. “We really learned a lot about ways to attract and retain workers and made some new connections at the summit,” he said. “It was nice to be around others in the industry and talk about what we experience every day…these guys understand the world we live in, so it was great to be able to connect and compare notes.”
In addition to sessions on workforce recruitment, development, and retention, Dirt World featured discussions on leadership, construction technology, mental health, and more.
Rory Hall expressed his support of the event, saying, “We’re all facing the same issues in the industry, so it makes a lot of sense to bring experts and leaders together to develop solutions for the problems we’re facing. Grade Tech is proud to be a part of such an important industry event.”
Check out these photos from the trip, which feature informative presentations, new friends, and of course, great food and drinks!
