3rd Qtr Duke CFO Global Business Outlook : Best Indicator Of Employment : Shortage of Qualified Workers

The Duke CFO Global Business Outlook is conducted quarterly. The survey polls CFOs of both public and private companies around the globe.  US strongest economy among top regions - we need to watch Asia, S. America and Africa...

U.S. job openings are at a record high of 5.8 million, and a new survey from Duke University provides a key reason: Employers say they can't find workers with required skills for many openings. As a result, employers are planning to boost pay in an attempt to find workers. They also continue to push for more foreign workers through high-tech visas known as H-1Bs. The risks of a workers' skills gap? A less competitive U.S. economy, and companies might be forced to relocate overseas if they can't find workers here, warns a Duke economics professor. 

 

Here is the report:  http://www.cfosurvey.org/

New Combined-Cycle Facility in Sherman, Texas Supported by up to 800 Jobs

FREDERICK, MD, November 8, 2012 — Bechtel announced today that construction is under way on a 758-megawatt natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant in Sherman, Texas. The company, along with Siemens, is designing and building the project for Panda Sherman Power, LLC, an affiliate of Panda Power Funds. Today representatives from the three companies joined dignitaries from across the state for a groundbreaking ceremony.

Engineering, procurement, and manufacturing activities for the project are already under way. The project will support up to 800 jobs during peak construction and will use local companies to provide services such as surveying, concrete pumping, and earthwork.

“Bechtel is proud to be calling on the expertise of local workers and suppliers to help support this important project,” said Jeff Brightman, president of Bechtel’s fossil business line.

Using the most advanced emissions-control technology, the generating station will be one of the most efficient natural gas-fueled power plants in the nation and is expected to power approximately 750,000 homes. Commercial operations of the plant are expected to begin in 2014.

Bechtel and Siemens are also the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for Panda Power Funds’ Panda Temple Generating Station. The 758-megawatt natural gas-fueled combined-cycle plant is being built in Temple, Texas, and commercial operations are expected to begin in 2014.

With more than 60 years of global experience in the power industry, Bechtel has successfully completed combined-cycle projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Egypt, India, Turkey, and Mexico.

About Bechtel
Bechtel is among the most respected engineering, project management, and construction companies in the world. We stand apart for our ability to get the job done right—no matter how big, how complex, or how remote. Bechtel operates through five global business units that specialize in civil infrastructure; power generation, communications, and transmission; mining and metals; oil, gas, and chemicals; and government services.

Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel has worked on more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries on all seven continents. Today, our 53,000 employees team with customers, partners and suppliers on diverse projects in nearly 50 countries. www.bechtel.com.

Bechtel Media Contact:Sonia Taylor
Phone: 301.228.7809 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 301.228.7809 end_of_the_skype_highlightingEmail: staylor4@bechtel.com

About Panda Power Funds, LP:Founded in 2010, Panda Power Funds is a private equity firm located in Dallas, Texas, which has the ability to internally source and develop, acquire, invest in, and operate large-scale, natural gas-fueled power generation facilities. The company recently built a utility-scale, 20-megawatt solar farm in Pilesgrove, New Jersey — one of the largest solar farms in the northeast United States. Additional information on Panda Power Funds can be found at www.pandafunds.com.

Panda Power Funds Media Contact:
Bill Pentak
Phone: 972.361.2000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 972.361.2000 end_of_the_skype_highlightingEmail: breakingnews@pandafunds.com

Bechtel Recognized for Excellence in Solar Power Industry

July 12, 2011

Company Named Concentrated Solar Power Contractor of the Year (Full Article)

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 12, 2011- Bechtel has been named EPC Contractor of 2011 by CSP Today, a leading information organization focused on the concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) industry. The award recognizes Bechtel’s leadership in the CSP industry and its role as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the Ivanpah project—a 392MW plant under construction in California’s Mojave Desert.

“Ivanpah is the most significant CSP project ever undertaken, and it has fostered the imagination and innovative thinking of many at Bechtel,” said Ian Copeland, president of Bechtel’s Renewable Power business. “We are proud to be building Ivanpah for NRG and BrightSource and are humbled by the recognition from our peers in the CSP industry.”

How to Shrink the Iraqi Government, Consolidate the Cabinet and Make an Informed Decision about the US Military Presence

Interesting Article and other information below. Have a great 4th of July!

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/an-effective-iraqi-cabinet-is-not-as-impossible-as-it-seems?pageCount=0

Recent blog entries include:

• Nujayfi’s Separatist Threat and the Reactions
• The New Football Association and the Politics of Sport in Iraq
• 100 Days: Maliki’s Frustrations and Unrealistic Dreams

All available at: http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com

See www.historiae.org for more interesting news and information about global politics.

Erik Plesset

When Freedom Is Bad for Business - How the U.S. invasion made Iraq’s economy worse, not better

Hello everyone !

Happy Memorial Day and many THANKS VERY MUCH to our soldiers and civilians supporting our efforts, our interests and way of life, in all regions past and present!

I have been in Iraq working for a large Iraqi construction firm living life there "outside-the-wire" with good-hearted and good-intended Iraqi nationals. They are so energetic and supportive of the opportunity to rebuild the country and manage it for themselves. And, as appreciative of US efforts to free them of Saddam regime as they are, there is a lot of resentment for the impoverished and dysfunctional social fabric left behind still in an sensitive state.

I've experienced the sentiments of the writer of this article being involved in everyday business. It is so difficult for those people there, arduous, laborious, dreadfully slow and expensive to do anything. It is a shame we weren't able to leave a lasting positive legacy after so much sacrifice everybody has made in the past years during our involvement in Iraq. Let's hope things get better, sooner than later, enshala, enshala!

This is a good article.. below intro and link to the full article is here...

IF YOU ARE planning to open a business in Iraq, I would advise you to bring a book. Something substantial, perhaps Tolstoy or Proust, or the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary. You’ll want a sizable knapsack, too, so you can comfortably carry not just all 20 volumes, but the enormous stacks of cash that the process will require.

Here is what the World Bank estimates you must do to open a new firm in Iraq. First, you will need to spend a couple of days deciding on a company name, determining whether it is already registered, and obtaining a “name reservation letter” from the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce at a cost of 350,000 Iraqi dinars ($300). Then, for about 900,000 dinars ($770), you must hire a lawyer to spend a day drafting articles of association for your company. You will need a couple more days to deposit 5,000 dinars ($4.30) in a commercial bank and obtain a confirming receipt, and up to two weeks and another 350,000 dinars ($300) to file for registration at the Commercial Registry. Advertising your incorporation notice in the local paper will set you back 80,000 dinars ($70), and you will lose another three days. Following that, you will expend two days and 20,000 dinars ($17) to make a company seal, but take heart—only one more day is needed to obtain your registration certificate from the Commercial Registry, which includes it absolutely free in the price of your registration filing.

Link to the full article is here...

Have a great day!

JOB: Sr Project Manager - USG Middle East

Erik Plesset
Sr Recruiter
MRI Raleigh
Tel: 919-781-0400 x 123
Email: eplesset@mriraleigh.com

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER - Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq and Morocco

My client, an international design / build contractor and ranked in the TOP of the ENR list of the 400 Top US Contractors is looking for a Sr. Project Manager for US Dept of State - USAID Overseas Building Operations Temporary Housing IDIQ contracts in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and Morocco.

PROFILE

The Senior Project Manager will be responsible for the profitable (P/L) operations and construction delivery of $50M housing, infrastructure such as utilities, power generation plants, water / waste water treatment facilities and support as required, per specification, of the developments including:

• Comfortable acting as Construction Manager interfacing with Client COR, internal design, operations and other support staff and international JV contractor partners, local nationals and other staff as required.
• Very familiar with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) contracting process
• Excellent knowledge of Prolog, Primavera, Suretrack Project Manager and Contract Manager Software
• Fifteen years or more of relevant international work experience, including project management of mid size to large construction projects with the Federal Government MILCON & CONTINENGENCY type of projects (OBO, DOD, USACE, USAID, AFCEE)
• BS degree in Engineering or Construction Management
• Travel and possible relocation through the Middle East, Morocco, Iraq or Afghanistan – MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MIDDLE EAST.
• Candidates already established in the area will be given top consideration
• SECRET Security Clearance or ability to obtain one

Pay: Competitive, Uplift, Per Diem, Completion Bonus
Benefits: Full Benefits
Term: Contract and Long Term Employment

Director Business Development - Security Screening Systems

Great job here... for the right person... contact me directly at 919-781-0400 OR eplesset@mriraleigh.com

TITLE DIRECTOR / VP of Business Development – EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!
LOCATION Boston Area HQ, commutable (Mid-Atlantic, Northeast)
PAY $150K, 1% commission of sales
CLEARANCE SECRET OR HIGHER
TRAVEL 50%
BENEFITS Mobil Phone, Laptop, and other electronics provided, Company credit card, 100% medical benefits paid by company for employee and family, 30 days vacation per year

COMPANY OVERVIEW

My Client, a growing company with 200 employees around the world – a system integrator and operator of field + sustainment security screening systems primarily Gamma & X-ray Systems is looking for an energetic business development director. The company assembles people and equipment as a one stop shop including sales of new equipment and field engineering teams to maintain the equipment including installing software and hardware upgrades, training of owner users, and even participate in the background during actual hostile action or other use of equipment. The equipment they assemble includes systems for :

· Ground Penetration

· Night Vision Thermal Programs

· MRAP Systems

· Robotics

· IT

· Communications

The company has been operating under the radar teaming with large primes; now they are interested in going after contracts independently as well, building brand awareness on their own legs. Current business is at DOD with target expansion into DOHS (Dept of Homeland Security). Roots of company are from DOD Special Forces + Original Equipment Manufacturers of gamma and X-ray screening technology setting up

· International port operations and security screening of containers,

· leading into ground penetration and work with US Customs and border patrol

· Leading into field combat operations and mobile DOD and Federal (FBI, SWAT, etc) commands looking for IEDS, bad guys and all the munitions and people and things we need to DESTROY!

“IDEAL” CANDIDATE

· Strong relationship builder, amassing a wide variety of US Government, industry business relationships with senior officials, all leading to achieving a professional reputation for innovation, strategic planning and consistently achieving successful results

· Must be very good with taking apart RFPs / FAR / Financial Considerations building near term pipeline

· Marketing background to enhance long term industry brand recognition

· Retired 0-4 / 0-6 DOD (equivalent) Intel, Sp Forces Commands OR Dept of Homeland Security (Other 3 Letter Agencies) OR Business Sector OEM with a strong rolodex of contacts and understanding of USG contracting in the security field

· 5 or so years experience in commercial Defense Industry or Federal Security contractors

· Bachelor`s degree in Business Management, Administration, Engineering, or related field, and at least 10 years of program related experience

PERSONALITY TRAITS

· Aggressive

· Personable

· Chameleon

· Hunter

· Creative

· Innovative

· “Make things happen” kind of person

OTHER

Relationships and/or understanding of Major Commands (MAJCOM) Contracting to

· TACOM - Wheels Detection

· PM-FPS - Product Manager - Force Protection Systems

· JEIDDO - Imagery Detectors

· MARCORP SYSCOM - Quantico / Stafford VA

· Federal Protection Service - Mobile Command Maintenance