Our industry is at a significant crossroads. The urgency to meet the growing demand for civil engineering services across the country while navigating staffing shortages is a universal challenge within the A/E/C industry – and of course for DRMP.

While we realized earlier on that investing in the development of our staff is one of the best ways to remain successful, we’re at a time in our industry that calls for a greater focus.

As a firm, we made a strategic decision to build an internal Learning & Development Program and identified a Production Technology Manager that would aid with the technical and professional development tools that were in place, but with a renewed, concentrated effort on ensuring that DRMP remains competitive in an industry that is constantly changing.

As you’ll read in this issue’s Featured Story, we have expanded our (L&D) staff and are working to provide our staff with access to resources on the latest technology and innovation; support in honing their skills and discipline specializations, and developing new leaders on every level and track. The program has something for everyone – from our interns getting insight into the industry, new project managers, and experienced engineers who want to learn the newest skill or requirement in their service lines. We have also developed various career tracks for those who want to take a skilled technical approach to develop their career or work to be a part of our growing leadership at the firm.

As someone who started at DRMP nearly 40 years ago as a rodman and is now officially the firm’s president, it took someone identifying my talent, strength, and integrity to guide me along the way. I know we have that in abundance at DRMP. My hope and that of our leaders is that the L&D program will be a catalyst that supports employees, and DRMP, to reach their highest potential.