Dive Brief:

• The Milwaukee Bucks announced Thursday that the team has partnered with a Maryland-based job search company to create a workforce development and job-matching tool as part of its commitment to hire 40% local workers for the construction of its new $524 million arena, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
• SkillSmart sorts open jobs by position online and then matches them to user-created resumes. The site also gauges how well the applicant matches each offering and provides training resources if they fall short of required qualifications.
• SkillSmart and the Bucks hope to "create a pipeline" of skilled construction workers to build the arena as well as the surrounding entertainment district, the Business Journal said.

Dive Insight:

Construction on the arena — under general contractor Mortenson — is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs, and "thousands more" are expected in conjunction with the associated entertainment district. The arena owner, the Wisconsin Center District, will keep tabs on the project's $250 million public investment during the construction process and then will lease the arena back to the Bucks for at least 30 years. 

In October, the city of Detroit fined contractors working on the Detroit Red Wings new $628 million arena more than $500,000 for failing to meet the contractual local hiring requirements of 51%. Project officials agreed to this condition in exchange for $285 million in public funding. However, some city officials said they believed the contractors' attempts to hire local workers were carried out in good faith. 

Hiring mandates are common when a large project receives some kind of federal, state or local subsidy, but with limited worker supply, they’re becoming increasingly difficult to meet. Add onto that a minority requirement, and the search becomes even harder. Brian Turmail, senior executive director of public affairs for the Associated General Contractors of America, told Construction Dive in October that the organization "has long opposed any kind of hiring preference being connected to construction projects" and that most cities should put more focus on technical training programs to build a pipeline of workers.