Report of the MCAA Workforce Development Committee Words: Adam MastersonSkills USA In June 2015 the MCAA continued it’s support of Skills USA. The Skills USA program moved this past year to Louisville, KY from it’s long time home of Kansas City MO. We look forward to our continued support of Skills USA. NCCER Sponsorship Program The MCAA closed its trial program in TN this past June. The program was ramping up nicely and in early 2015 the MCAA received word that the state was going to be changing their vocational program structure. Part of the plan was to combine many of the stand alone programs and combine them into a very limited program on each trade and offer them as a general trade program. As a result, the need for NCCER sponsorship in the masonry programs was going to be nearly non-existent. The MCAA made efforts to try and ask the state to reverse it’s decision, but was unsuccessful. This is turn created a vacuum for the grant the MCAA received from NCMA the previous year and the grant was stopped and the funds distributed to MCAA for the development of the program were asked to be returned. NCCER Update The rewrite of all three training programs through NCCER has been completed. In addition, there is a new program which should roll out soon which will allow for the mason who has been in the industry for years to test both a written and performance exam to give them a credential to show they have journeyman knowledge. We are excited to see this get rolling as it should allow for masons who never had formal training to show that they have the knowledge necessary to be on the job-site. The Foreman Development Program The Foreman Development Program will be held again in Las Vegas. We are looking to re-develop this and add and delete some new sections. One section in particular we are looking to add will be on the use of technology.