Frequently Asked Questions

C3 Frequently Asked Questions
 
 What is C3?
C3 (Construction Career Collaborative) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit alliance of Owners, General Contractors, Specialty Contractors, construction industry trade organizations and design professionals working to create a safe, skilled and sustainable craft workforce by positively impacting the issues facing the craft workforce in the commercial construction industry of the Greater Houston Region.
 
What does it do?
C3 strives to make careers in the construction trades attractive in order to create a safe, skilled and sustainable craft workforce for the future. C3 achieves this objective with a foundational OSHA safety requirement, evergreen C3 Safety Refresher Training and by consulting with construction companies to help them develop and deliver skills training linked to construction career paths for their craft workers.  For those companies that already provide a craft training program for their craft workforce, C3, after a rigorous assessment, provides an endorsement at one of three levels – Recognized, Leader or Champion.
 
C3 advocates for Owners to build projects with General and Specialty Contractors where all workers are hourly employees, who receive a Form W-2, are eligible to earn overtime pay, have OSHA safety credentials, are protected by worker’s compensation insurance in the event of a workplace injury and receive ongoing Craft and Safety Training.   
What are the requirements for a C3 project?
The Owners, whether private or public, designate the project as a C3 Project meaning that the General Contractor and all Specialty Contractors will comply with C3’s principles of Financial Health and Well-Being of the Craft Worker, Craft Training and Safety Training.
 
How does C3 do that?
The C3 team works with the General Contractor on the project to ensure compliance with the requirements of the C3 Accreditation program through the verification of employers’ pay practices and the verification of safety credentials of workers on the project site. This is currently accomplished through the use of the C3 Training Database along with job site interviews of craft workers by the C3 compliance team.
 
Who can see my Company’s workforce information in the C3 Database?
Only the General Contractor on a designated C3 project and your designated administrators can access the information in the C3 database. The GC can only see the information attributed to your employees who are assigned to that particular C3 project for that particular GC. No other Subs can see the information on your workforce in the C3 database.
  
Who is responsible for the program?
C3 has a Board of Directors that oversees the C3 program. That Board is comprised of five owner’s representatives, eight general contractors, five specialty contractors, three industry trade association executives, and two architects.
                                                                                                                                                                                          
How long has it been in existence?
C3 was organized in 2009.
 
Where does C3 operate?
We currently cover commercial and institutional projects throughout the Greater Houston region.
 
Who are the owners who endorse C3?

• The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Texas Children’s Hospital
• Hines
• Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
• Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
• JLL
• Museum of Fine Arts-Houston
• Greater Houston Partnership
• Ronald McDonald House
• San Jacinto College
• Brookfield Properties

 
Does the project owner pay a fee?
No. General Contractors, Specialty Contractors and Staffing Agencies pay C3 accreditation fees.
 
How many Contractors, Specialty Contractors and Staffing Agencies have C3 accreditation?
More than 350 of Houston’s best construction companies have C3 accreditation, including:

• More than 235 Accredited Employers including 25 General Contractors
• More than 120 Project Participants currently active on C3 Projects (In addition, many, many more companies have completed their work on C3 projects as Project Participants.)
• Eight Certified Staffing Agencies

 
Can C3 help my company develop a craft training program that is linked to a career path for my craft workers?
Yes.  C3 provides free consulting services to all of its Accredited Employers to help them design and develop their respective craft training programs that are linked to construction career paths.  C3 employs training professionals with many years of experience who consult with companies to guide them through the process. 
  
Does my company have to apply for C3 accreditation, and pay the accreditation fee, before it can bid on a C3 Project?
No, a company is not required to have C3 accreditation, or pay the respective accreditation fee, until it is awarded the contract on a C3 Project. However, once your company is awarded a C3 Project it must fulfill all C3 requirements before its craft workers can begin work on it.
 
My company is a General Contractor and a C3 Accredited Employer.  Does that mean that all Specialty Contractors working on all of our projects must have C3 accreditation?
No, C3 accreditation is required on C3 Projects only.  
 
Can you provide a description of C3 projects?
Currently, 50% of all major healthcare institutions in the Houston region are C3 Endorsers and have projects that are under construction or have been completed. Included among those are four regional healthcare campuses totaling more than $460M and two large expansions of existing facilities in the Texas Medical Center totaling $750M.  This is in addition to a $240M expansion of a museum in the Museum District of Houston.  Several more C3 Projects for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are either currently under construction or were recently completed with more expected to begin construction in the coming months. Further, the renovation and expansion of Ronald McDonald House in the Texas Medical Center was a C3 project that was recently completed. Also, the Block 58 project in Downtown Houston for Hines began construction in August of 2018, and the San Jacinto College Central Campus Welcome Center started construction in January. Finally, Brookfield Properties announced in January that the Houston Center Repositioning is a C3 Project with construction beginning this month. 
 
Who does the site compliance visits?
C3 personnel conduct periodic job site visits and craft worker interviews to assure that all C3 accredited organizations (General Contractors, Specialty Contractors and Staffing Agencies) adhere to C3 requirements.
 
Does C3 have a position on Immigration?
C3 does not take a position on immigration or any other political issue. However, C3 does require craft and safety training for construction workers, no matter their country of origin.
 
How can a Contractor or Specialty Contractor become accredited?
Applications are available on the C3 website at http://www.constructioncareercollaborative.org/document-links.
 
How can we become a C3 Endorser?
For information about how your organization can engage with C3, please contact Chuck Gremillion,     
C3 Executive Director, at (713) 999-1218 or at chuck@constructioncareercollaborative.org.