MADISON, Wis. — Representatives with a statewide construction contracting service said they are looking for new top talent. 

What You Need To Know

  • Miron Construction is currently engaged in significant renovation efforts at the Kohl Center, a notable site for Wisconsin Badgers events
  • The company highlights opportunities for growth within the organization and offers weekends off
  • Miron Construction’s Executive VP of Human Resources, Dave Walsh, emphasized the high demand for skilled individuals to join the union trades, citing the need for more talent to meet new project demands
  • Site superintendent Paul Opalewski praised the teamwork of the whole crew, including carpenters, laborers, HVAC, and plumbing units, all of whom contributed to the project’s success

At the Kohl Center, Miron Construction crew members were hard at work on a renovation effort.

“You come up through the ranks. That’s one of your visions. Your goal is to get on some high-profile projects, especially something for the Badgers,” said Paul Opalewski, Miron Construction site superintendent.

Opalewski said he was proud of his crew for their continued support in revamping the iconic site.

“It’s not just the carpenters and laborers. It’s the whole team — HVAC, plumbing unit. You know, the whole team has a great team here. So they’re pretty much all union and they all started from the bottom up,” Opalewski said.

Neva Littlegeorge was recently promoted from an eight-year laborer to Miron’s first female foreman.

“Yeah, came a long way, and I can keep up with everybody, just the same,” she said.

“There are a lot of opportunities for advancement,” Miron Construction’s Executive Vice President of Human Resources Dave Walsh said. “As a matter of fact, we would say there’s probably more opportunities for advancement than there are people who want to advance.”

He said there’s a need for more individuals to take on union trades.

“Right now we have about 1,200 people in our field, our talented craftspeople. We have 450 people in our office and yard operations. And that’s probably just barely covering what we needed to get our jobs done,” Walsh said.

Jobs such as the one being done at the Kohl Center require serious skilled labor, but Miron’s Brad Howland said he has appreciated the weekends off and the feeling of accomplishment.

“It’s good. I mean, you can go home and tell your wife and kids, your friends, family what you’re working on,” Howland said.

Opalewski said it feels good to get the hands-on experience and make a difference.

“You get to see many different types of projects. And this is one of the cool ones where you get to work right alongside the Badgers,” Opalewski said.

Learn more about careers with Miron Construction, here.

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