Toll-free number connects workers with construction opportunities.

The Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Office of Civil Rights recently opened a toll-free, bilingual phone line that provides Oregonians with information about employment and apprenticeship opportunities with ODOT's contractors on highway construction projects. When callers dial 1-877-972-5700,

Oregon is facing a shortage of qualified highway workers for apprentice and skilled journey-level positions, and ODOT officials concede that the process for entering the construction industry can be challenging. The department is facilitating that process for job seekers through its Workforce Development Plan.

Through regional alliances statewide, ODOT is building a qualified labor pool to work on highway and bridge construction projects, which are reaching record levels. Across the State, ODOT is engaged in major construction projects to improve highway infrastructure, including projects in the $1.3 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA) III State Bridge Delivery Program. The bridge program, part of ODOT's 10-year, $3 billion OTIA, is replacing and repairing hundreds of aging highway bridges.

"The new toll-free number gives people a simple, direct line of communication," says Michael Cobb, manager of ODOT's Office of Civil Rights. "Now anyone, anywhere in the State, can receive personal guidance about construction opportunities in their area."

ODOT