The industry’s, arguably, highest standard is now being used as a goal in design of several schools. Snohomish’s Valley View Middle School is the newest to join the Challenge. Seattle’s Bertschi School was the second to announce its goal to obtain Living Building status. Neither of the aforementioned schools have obtained the high standard of Living Building Certification. The Snohomish School District has taken a very interesting approach to “selling&# the public on this idea. Snohomish will be tackling a quite impressive feat. MORE >>

Many welding schools have reported an increase in the amount of women who are interested in welding as a. Welding School & Job InfoWomen who have chosen welding as a career is not as new a development as some may think. Women have been welding in the workplace since World War II. When the war was in high gear, many manufacturing plants were in need of workers and had to turn to women to fill the jobs left vacant by the men who were serving. What is new is that more and more women are seeing welding as a viable and lucrative career option. MORE >>

Earlier this week, Mike posted an intriguing report of contracting fraud in the Seattle School System. The  Seattle School District is embroiled in a damaging contracting scandal involving allegations of fraud in the management and award of contracts surrounding its program designed to promote the use of minority and women owned businesses. Mike Purdy’ s  Public Contracting Blog is one of the most complete public construction blogs on the web. Before going it alone at Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLC , he served as the Contracts Manager at the University of Washington. MORE >>

Because jobs in land-based careers such construction can be hard to find, and it can be difficult to go to school for extra training. Welding School & Job InfoOffshore welding jobs are considered by some to be the best jobs for welders during these difficult economic times. There are many job openings in offshore welding on the rigs and many welders find it to be an exciting adventure as it is far from your traditional job. There are two main kinds of welding jobs for offshore welders. One kind is done above water on the rigs and the other kind is done underwater. MORE >>

Welding School & Job InfoThe Reality of Our New Economy Our economy is currently in a state of flux, dramatically altering the landscape of traditional business, commerce and trade. Ultimately, this historic period of change is reshaping the American work-force, yielding a completely new vision of modern employment. One of the most changes is the effort many companies are making to operate as lean as possible; with the goal of lower their overall costs. The fewer number of full-time employees, the less a company pays in employment tax, social security contributions and health care costs. MORE >>