PHILADELPHIA and WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hill International, Inc. (NYSE:HIL), delivering the infrastructure of change, announced today a partnership with the National Urban League. The partnership will focus on increasing diversity in the country’s construction workforce.
- Hill International and the National Urban League have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
- Together, they will provide project management oversight (PMO) to U.S. Federal government agencies for initiatives related to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- The partnership will help ensure African Americans and other underrepresented groups have access to the thousands of new employment opportunities in the construction industry.
A memorandum of understanding between the two organizations sets out a determination to ensure employment opportunities emerging from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are open to people from all backgrounds.
The legislation, passed last year, includes approximately $1 trillion in new federal investment in America’s roads and bridges, airports, rail and transit, water infrastructure, resilience, broadband access, and more. It is estimated that these investments will add around 2 million jobs per year over the course of the coming decade.
However, the construction sector is facing a serious skills gap: a recent report by McKinsey states that 402,000 construction positions remained unfilled at the end of October 2021, the second-highest level of unfilled positions recorded since data collection began. The same report also noted that 88 percent of the construction workforce is white, and 89 percent is male.
Hill International believes developing the sector’s workforce to be more representative of the country will help attract talent to the sector. In particular, the company wants to work with the National Urban League to improve access for African Americans and other historically underserved groups.
Hill International and the National Urban League have agreed to offer federal government agencies a joint PMO solution for the hundreds of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act projects that will shortly be underway. A key pillar of Hill’s PMO service will be to focus on diversity at every level of project delivery.
Raouf Ghali, Chief Executive Officer of Hill International said:
“Inclusivity is one of our company’s core values. Creating a working environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed improves employee satisfaction, sparks innovation, and delivers inclusive growth.
“The record investment by the U.S. Federal government in infrastructure has initiated huge demand in the sector and will create thousands of new job roles.
“We need to make sure those opportunities are open to people of all backgrounds and I am delighted to be working with the National Urban League to make that happen.”
Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League said:
“We are excited by the opportunity to bring more diversity to the construction workforce, a sector that has struggled to attract African Americans and other underrepresented groups in the past.
“I am confident working with Hill International and federal agencies, we can ensure taxpayer money is helping to create new, highly skilled jobs for all Americans.”
About Hill International
Hill International, with more than 3,200 professionals in over 100 offices worldwide, provides program management, project management, construction management, project management oversight, construction claims, dispute resolution, advisory, facilities management, and other consulting services to clients in a variety of market sectors. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as one of the largest construction management firms in the United States. For more information on Hill, please visit our website at www.hillintl.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is our intent that any such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Except for historical information, the matters set forth herein including, but not limited to, any statements of belief or intent, any statements concerning our plans, strategies, and objectives for future operations are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that the expectations, estimates, and assumptions reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements are set forth in the Risk Factors section and elsewhere in the reports we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including that unfavorable global economic conditions may adversely impact our business, our backlog may not be fully realized as revenue, and our expenses may be higher than anticipated. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.
About National Urban League
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization with 90 affiliates serving 300 communities, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than two million people nationwide.
Contacts:
| Hill International, Inc. | National Urban League |
| Elizabeth J. Zipf, LEED AP BD+C | Teresa Candori |
| Senior Vice President | Senior Director, Media Relations, Marketing and Communications |
| (215) 309-7707 | (212) 558-5362 |
| elizabethzipf@hillintl.com | tcandori@nul.org |
| The Equity Group, Inc. | |
| Devin Sullivan | |
| Senior Vice President | |
| (212) 836-9608 | |
| dsullivan@equityny.com | |
