Masonry Magazine March 1980 Page. 9
APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING
Pathways to Professionalism
In Masonry
by SHANNON KRACHT and CARL HORSTRUP
Time was, when a mason contractor needed a man to help on a project, he'd put the word out, select the most likely looking (or smoothest talking) candidate from a collection of motley, unemployed characters, stick a trowel in the chosen one's hand or a hod on his shoulder, shout some hurried instructions and stand back to see what sort of decision he'd made. Either that or he'd visit the local depot to see what in the way of able bodies the latest freight train had carted into town.
If those two attempts failed, there was always family. He'd come home from work, amble on up to one of his strapping young sons, and say, "Congratulations, boy. you're gonna be a bricklayer."
The enactment of the Fitzgerald Act-the national apprenticeship law-in 1937 proposed to put an end to those "selection procedures" by providing a readily-available store of young men available and eager to learn a trade. Although in some instances and some contractors would say too many instances the potluck procedure of the turn-of-the-century still exists, few would argue that substantial progress has been made in the 42 years since the law's inception.
The Fitzgerald Act created a sort of national standard which called for a commitment of several years' on-the-job training, proficiency in certain masonry skills and so many hours of related classroom training each year of the apprenticeship. Despite the fact that some of the finest old bricklayers anyone ever knew dropped out of school in the fourth grade and never set foot in class after that, current surveys seem to conclude that the apprenticeship law is alive and working. People have been generally happy with the industry, its products and labor, its professionalism.
Though sons are still prevailed upon to follow in their fathers' footsteps regardless of motivation, inclination or ability, it's a safe bet to say that the local train schedule doesn't figure into a contractor's labor force anymore. There are programs now which are designed to train people to become apprentices-preapprenticeship programs, whose function it is to prepare people to enter industry. There are many: big, small, known, unknown. Some will be missed here. This is written just to give contractors an idea of where some of the current 9,000 American apprentices came from, and especially to point up areas about where they might look for the estimated 35,000 new apprentices which will be needed in the coming five years.
The most common plaint of any trade is lack of skilled beginners, people with a "feeling" for the tools of the trade, men and women who can sense the trade's values and speak its language. To the outsider, bricklaying seems a simple enough task. After all, you just add water to that stuff in the sack over there and PRESTO!-mortar. A few hours with the trowel and you know all there is to know.
About the Authors
Shannon Kracht is Related Training Coordinator, Low Enrollment Apprenticeship, Southern Oregon Masonry Industry Fund, Eugene, and Editor of "Trowel Talk." Carl Horstrup is Apprenticeship Coordinator of SOMIF and Publisher of "Trowel Talk. Part II of their article will be carried in an early forthcoming issue of "Masonry."
Angel Job Corp Center Corpsman Dave Gardner... Corpswoman Diana Morgan... and Corpsman Brad Duncan.