Masonry Magazine July 2007 Page. 33
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resort for employment when people can't find a job anywhere else when, in truth, masonry provides a well paying career and is a first career choice for many people.
"For so long, the construction industry has had a negative [image]; the construction industry has had a bad rap," she said. "I really think this [image] is changing though. It changes when [new employees] receive their first check. Many masonry journeymen make more [money] than professionals with their master's or bachelor's degree."
Skills Contests
The ever-popular MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge and Fastest Trowel on the Block provide excellent opportunities for apprentices and journeymen to show off their talents and aim for the next level.
The MCAA International Masonry Skills Challenge is a competition of masonry apprentices in first, second- and third-year skill levels. The contest is a showcase for skills training in the masonry industry, challenging winning apprentices from across the United States to determine the top masonry apprentice at each level. This exciting competition spotlights the masonry industry's finest young masons and focuses attention on careers in the masonry industry.
The MCAA Fastest Trowel on the Block competition, sponsored by The QUIKRETE Companies, is a showcase of industry craftsmanship and a testament of both the speed and skill of our industry's workforce. Only those masons who have the skill, confidence and courage to face-off with the industry's best are invited to compete. This is a contest that also proves how important teamwork is in accomplishing a final product.
SkillsUSA
As a full, voting member of the national SkillsUSA Masonry Technical Committee, the MCAA also lends its support and participates in this national contest.
SkillsUSA is a national organization serving more than 250,000 high school and college students enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled and service occupations. The organization's training programs prepare America's high-performance workers through quality education experiences in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development.
SkillsUSA programs include local, state and national competitions in which students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills. During the annual, national-level SkillsUSA Championships, more than 4,600 students compete in 80 occupational and leadership skill areas. SkillsUSA programs also help to establish industry standards for job skill training in the classroom.
The Association works annually to help coordinate the Skill-SUSA Championships in Kansas City each June with other industry partners.
To combat the negative image, McLaughlin said his foundation is working to educate guidance counselors about masonry so they can inform students about opportunities in the trades.
"Our mission is not only to recruit and educate the students, but to educate the educators," McLaughlin said. He cites Department of Education findings that say 60 percent of Florida ninth grade students do not graduate from college. These students will need career paths, and masonry is a good choice for people who are willing to work hard and earn a good paycheck, he said. "We need to build skills for those students who aren't going to college because they're the majority, not the minority."
McLaughlin said that a common complaint among trades-people is that schools do little to encourage students to consider careers in construction. "Some of it is our education system; it's geared toward the college-bound," McLaughlin said. "A lot of schools have not promoted the trades."
The problem isn't limited to schools. Griffin said he wants to see the rest of the construction trades appreciate and support the masonry industry and not keep looking for an alternative to masonry systems that may seem cheaper or faster.
"I'd like to see the construction industry as a whole embrace our industry," he said. "I hope we can continue to keep the industry progressive. When masonry grows, jobs are created."
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