SkillSmart is proud to announce successful completion of the SOC 2 Type II Audit, ensuring our clients benefit from top-tier data security and compliance. This achievement reaffirms our commitment to safeguarding client data with best-in-class technology and services, demonstrating our dedication to security, compliance, and community impact.

Over the past two years, organizations in the energy sector have become increasingly aware of the concept of prevailing wage, which has arisen from the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), as well as an increasing emphasis on this topic by jurisdictions and project owners. While it’s a fairly straightforward concept, many sectors within the industry are encountering it for the first time, leading to some unfamiliarity. Essentially, prevailing wage refers to the basic hourly rate of wages and benefits paid to similarly employed workers in a specific geographic area.

Now, more energy organizations are not only learning about prevailing wage but also finding themselves needing to take action. This is because certain funds, tax credits, and policies now hinge on ensuring prevailing wages are paid and that the associated information is documented and reported regularly. Traditionally, this requirement was mainly associated with construction projects, leaving many other sectors within the industry relatively untouched by such considerations.

Because prevailing wage requirements are becoming more prevalent, specifically in the energy sector, for new and existing energy operations and development projects, we will address two key points: Why meeting prevailing requirements is important; and How to effectively capture prevailing wage data, for compliance and cash flow from federal funding sources.

First, you might find yourself subject to prevailing wage requirements now, even if you haven’t encountered them before. This could happen because the project or organization you’re working with is now pursuing specific tax credits or financing that necessitates compliance. This change could apply retroactively, even to projects previously exempt. For instance, SkillSmart was brought onto a client’s EV battery manufacturing project, ongoing for nearly a year, only to find out that a recent project refinancing required all workers to meet, track, and submit prevailing wage . Working against a three week deadline, over 125 subcontractors and vendors were required to provide their prior-year information. Many initially dismissed it as an error until the project owner and general contractor clarified the situation.

Secondly, since other industry sectors have had to meet prevailing wage requirements previously, this is not a new concept, so there are tools that can help you, and you don’t have to go through this on your own.  That’s where SkillSmart can provide a solution. InSight, our highly configurable and easy-to-use software platform, is at the forefront of supporting our clients and partners in driving positive change and providing solutions to help project teams use their day-to-day data to meet expectations, internally and externally. Based on conversations during the prospecting stage, our team would recommend the following things to look for and specifically ask about during a demo.

1. Ease of Use: Ensure the software is user-friendly, especially for subcontractors and vendors who will be submitting their information. A streamlined interface can save time and reduce errors in data submission.
2. Tracking Multiple Tiers: Look for a solution that can capture information from every organization involved in your projects, whether they report directly to you or to one of your subcontractors. This ensures comprehensive compliance across all tiers of your supply chain.
3. Scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with your business and support your expanding activities and projects. This flexibility ensures that the software remains effective as your operations evolve.
4. Support: Confirm that the product offers adequate support for you, your team, subcontractors, and vendors at no additional cost. Access to timely assistance can resolve issues quickly and minimize disruptions to your workflow.

As we conclude, remember not to overlook the possibility of now being subject to prevailing wage requirements. Take the initiative to inquire with your client or project owner about any recent changes. Additionally, explore resources such as SkillSmart and tools like InSight, which can offer valuable assistance. You’re not alone in this journey; if you need guidance,  reach out to us. Our team is here to help you navigate through this new terrain.

Since the middle of December, I’ve been hearing from our clients and prospective clients that they’re undertaking the annual rite of year-end reporting.  Interestingly, this year I’ve heard from more of our prospects as to what a challenge this has become for them:

• trying to gather data from all of their projects which is often captured differently by different people on each project;
• putting together and sharing this year’s report format and requirements;
• getting clarity around what is being measured and what counts – local spend, DBE spend, clarifying wage requirements, etc;
• were all of our subcontractors compliant with any/all wage requirements;
• wrestling with the manual capturing of all of that data and getting it entered error-free into an array of spreadsheets;
• and, finally, could we actually defend the data that we’ve collected if a client asked us for more detail?

These are just a few of the items that I’m hearing.  One of the real challenges is that this pain of year-end reporting is felt just that one time, and while it’s ugly, most people in your organization try to forget about it as quickly as possible, until the dread begins to rise at the beginning of Q4 next year.

What if you could simplify the process for year-end reporting, while simplifying collection and reporting efforts throughout the year, and getting your entire team and projects on the same page?

Whether it’s as simple as ensuring compliance with prevailing wage or tracking the MWDBE spending within all of your subcontracting tiers through all of your projects in a standard way –  that’s where SkillSmart’s InSight platform can help and provide a solution that can be utilized throughout the year – weekly, monthly, quarterly – to manage to your goals. This also includes ways that our InSight platform can produce customized reporting, based on who you’re reporting to or what else you will need to report on.

Now is the time to look for a solution – when the frustrations are real, and you know exactly what challenges your team has faced in addressing the 2023 year-end reports, or even if you need to talk through the challenges your team has faced and walk through our demo with one of our team members.

Fortunately, we have heard from a number of our clients whose lives have become much simpler at this time of year and only have to confirm that the required data is in the system for all of their projects, and then generate their reports with standard and reliable outcomes.

Share your year-end reporting experience with us, and we can explore how InSight can transform your project tracking, making 2023 the final year your business tackled reporting challenges. Allow us to assist you in streamlining your efforts to convey the positive impact of your projects within the communities and markets that you serve.

Wishing you a successful 2024 from the SkillSmart Team!

— Mike Knapp, CEO & Co-Founder, SkillSmart

America is at the beginning of a government-supported building boom. Between 2021 and 2022, Congress invested more than $2.3 trillion across three pieces of legislation—the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act—to enable critical transportation, climate, energy, environmental, broadband, and semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure through a combination of direct spending, grants, formula funds, and tax incentives¹ .

We’re still very much on the front end of this, with about 10 percent, or about $220 billion, disbursed so far according to various news reports.  One of the key themes associated with using these funds is measuring and reporting workforce outputs and outcomes in order to demonstrate the positive impact these funds are having in the communities where the funding is being invested.

On the infrastructure and construction side, we’ve already seen a move for general contractors to track this information to meet prevailing wage requirements, but we’re also seeing an increased focus on addressing liability concerns, and protecting prime contractors against wage theft claims, and tracking the payroll of all the tiers of subcontractors on a project too.  However, one of the really interesting aspects about these federal funds is the breadth of industries that can benefit. These are sectors that haven’t typically had to capture and share workforce information.  There are communities eligible for grants that can capture and report this information while strengthening their local workforce. In addition, there are energy and broadband projects that can access tax incentives while demonstrating the positive workforce affects.

Most important, even though this may be a new concept for your sector or project, capturing the data and providing customized reporting for each endeavor doesn’t have to be difficult.

According to the Center for American Progress (CAP), as agency funding requirements are being developed and implemented many are likely to include language that applicants will be required to meet preexisting workforce standards, if awarded funding, as well as definitions of policy goals, ideally tied to implementation steps, enforcement, and reporting.  CAP further indicates that agencies may require grantees, who are subject to certified payroll requirements, to use software that tracks demographic characteristics of workers along with hours worked and wages paid.  Project owners and grantees can increase visibility by convening project partners regularly to review data and even make the project data publicly available, if the correct technology is deployed.

You can proactively position your organization for success in these areas by implementing workforce and business tracking, software like our InSight product to easily capture, manage, and report the data on one or many projects.  Typically, for less than the cost of a full-time employee you can use an intuitive software to demonstrate your commitment to meeting these key funding objectives, while increasing your likelihood for success in obtaining funding and facilitate meeting the ongoing funding goals and requirements.

Finally, SkillSmart can help you tell the story of success on your project by developing reports to meet the needs of any project that you are undertaking.

The resources exist to build infrastructure, increase manufacturing capacity, and grow communities while positively affecting workers and communities across the country.  At SkillSmart, we can help you easily capture data, meet your goals, and tell your story.

Citation:

¹ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 58, 117th Cong., 1st sess. (November 15, 2021), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/titles; Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Public Law 169, 117th Cong., 2nd sess. (August 16, 2022), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376; CHIPS and Science Act, Public Law 167, 117th Cong., 2nd sess. (August 9, 2022), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4346.

When we founded SkillSmart ten years ago, we had a vision to use technology to make communities stronger by helping workers obtain the skills they needed to be successful working for employers in their community.  We recognized that strong communities need workers who can earn a good wage and employers that can thrive because of their workforce.  Quickly, we also recognized that it’s difficult to achieve in a community without establishing measurable goals, tracking efforts toward meeting those goals, and having the data to demonstrate how workers and employers are improving.  So, we developed additional technology to increase transparency regarding measurable success.

Our organization seamlessly integrates with clients, offering solutions and ideas to advance projects across a multitude of sectors.

We know that in order to help our clients achieve their important goals, that the SkillSmart team has to be one with synergy, understanding of the challenges that our clients face, and to be supportive of each other as we continue to evolve during very dynamic times. Our organization is one that can easily integrate with our clients and comes to the conversation with solutions and ideas to advance the dialogue and help move the project forward. Each of our team members seeks to uphold our principles of innovation, equity, service, accountability, balance and fun.  In order to recognize the efforts of our team and SkillSmart’s commitment to each other, we set aside June 1 each year, the anniversary of our incorporation, to pause and say thank you, re-charge a bit and reflect on how we can support making others stronger.

Over the last decade, we have helped make countless communities across the country stronger.  Tens of thousands of workers in communities like Prince George’s County, MD, Milwaukee and Racine, WI, Springfield and Everett, MA, Detroit, MI, NYC have been matched to the skills training and job opportunities they needed.  We’ve also helped organizations like the Purple Line, the Detroit Pistons, Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, Portland Community College, the St. Louis City SC,  Guilford County, NC, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nashville SC,  and Amazon HQ2 and other large-scale infrastructure projects demonstrate how the businesses and residents in their communities are benefitting from the economic investments in their communities.

More and more organizations and communities are taking steps to be more inclusive to make their communities strong and we’re excited to help them achieve this important objective, document their progress and tell each unique story.

So, this June 1 and SkillSmart Day 2023, Jason (Green) and I (Mike Knapp) want to say thank you to each of our clients that we’ve had the pleasure to serve and grow with during the past decade.  We also want to say a heartfelt thank you to our SkillSmart team who have each chosen to join us on this journey to make stronger communities – we are honored to serve with you and appreciate all that you do each day.

Everywhere you look, from small towns to big cities, and even the federal government, there’s a drive to improve the economy and create more good jobs with decent pay so folks can live well and help the economy prosper. These are great platitudes, but how can it actually happen?  Well, I had two experiences this past month that provide some perspective on this.

First, we brought on a new client, a county in North Carolina, and I had an opportunity to sit down with our contact who had just started her position in December.  Her title is MWBE Program Director and she reports into the County Manager.  We were discussing why she was hired, why it was an interesting job opportunity and what the County is hoping to accomplish with her in this role.  She said, “If you look at my title, it looks like a traditional compliance role – make sure everyone is reporting things correctly.  Yet, the County recognized that with a nearly $900 million budget, they should have a huge impact on their economic growth, particularly small businesses.  However, they also recognized they don’t have the tools or data to know what impact they’re actually having. So, my job is to help our leaders and policy-makers understand our current impact on the local economy and how to make stronger.”

The second experience was my attending the P3 Conference in Dallas, TX where everything you wanted to learn about public-private partnerships (the 3 “Ps” in P3) was on display for three days.  As I participated in the sessions, it became clear that these innovative financing mechanisms are a “newer” way to get projects constructed in communities – everything from schools to roads and transit and to community centers and libraries.  But every public sector partner I heard speak discussed how each of these projects is a catalyst for economic growth in their communities, especially for small and local businesses which drive the local economy.  So, a critical element for these projects is community engagement and local participation, at every level, and it’s vital to track and manage this in order to achieve the desired community impact and growth.

At SkillSmart, we are partners in helping to achieve these outcomes. Our tools are designed to be easy for project participants to input and share information, the data is readily accessible so everyone can see the progress that is being made, or changes that are needed, and ultimately the reports can help managers, leaders policy-makers and residents can see the impact they are having to make the community and economy stronger.

Let us know if we can support you in your efforts to positively impact your community and grow the economy.