Report of the MCAA Workforce Development Committee

High School Recruitment Campaign
Proposed as the first long-term recruitment program in the masonry industry, last Spring we introduced the High School Recruitment Campaign with the clear goal of increasing the future pool of mason journeymen. Our committee understood the enormity of this task, so we constructed a plan that would approach today's student from many different directions over the course of four years, and essentially change the image of masonry to these young people and make it a real career choice option.

Our first step was to contact the nation's 17,000 public high schools and enroll them in our program. We sent a brochure to the guidance counselors at each of these schools, and beginning in April of last year, started receiving what would total 1,200 responses (representing every state in the country). With these responses we obtained the schools information, as well as the guidance counselors' names and email addresses.

Next we began our effort to acquire the funding to cover our work in these schools. We designated "sponsorship" as a monetary contribution of $200, paying for our campaign within each school, and in return the sponsor would be associated with all of our mailings, visits, and events within their sponsored school. Melissa Polivka, our Director of Workforce Development, contacted MCAA members to gather names of potential sponsors (local and national suppliers, associations, etc.) and began soliciting their contributions. To date, she has contacted over 500 industry affiliated companies and organizations, and has raised $94,600- enough to cover 473 schools. Her efforts continue.

Recently, Melissa presented our program to the NCMA Workforce Development Committee annual meeting in Atlanta, the PCA Masonry Subcommittee annual meeting in Chicago, and the Masonry Industry Council annual meeting in Washington DC. She asked each of these associations to support the campaign by making large contributions to the program. Response was good, and each group is currently considering their donation amount. She is also in negotiations with some large national suppliers and local associations to secure their donations. CEMEX, Lehigh Cement and the New England Concrete Masonry Association, to name a few, have all indicated making large contributions. By the end of this fiscal year, June 2004, we plan to have a total of $160,000 in donations, and to have shipped the introductory "Check Out a Career in Masonry" kit to 800 schools.

Shipping the kits to each school is just the first step of this program. This is an on-going, multistage, multi-target promotional campaign offering so much more than just a "career kit." We have selected three targets for the program: students, educators/ guidance counselors, and parents/ community. The High School Recruitment Campaign consists of the following stages to influence these targets:

• Stage One: deliver career kit to each school as student resource and communicate with guidance counselor about encouraging students to use the kit.

• Stage Two: coordinate with guidance counselor to arrange visit from an industry representative with a masonry career presentation and a hands-on demonstration.

• Stage Three: establish Skills USA (or similar) masonry vocational training program in schools where one is not offered.

• Stage Four: organize community event through the vocational classes (i.e. Habitat for Humanity) that will gain public relations exposure.

Melissa has been tracking and following up with the schools that we have shipped to, and has already coordinated over 20 career days this school year. She has also gotten great feedback regarding the quality of the materials contained in the kit and the students' interest levels. By building relationships, she is working very closely with these schools, and will continue to do so. This is the manner in which we will make an impact on the image of masonry and over time create a highly talented worker base.

International Masonry Skills Challenge
The Fifth Annual International Masonry Skills Challenge contest has gone through many changes this year, and we believe the contest is now better for the contestants, the spectators, and the MCAA. The contest is tomorrow, March 23rd, beginning at 10:00 as the Masonry Showcase Exhibits open, and will feature 20 contestants from across the country. The rules and judging criteria remain the same as in past years, but many new features have been added, and many contestant distractions have been removed.

Most importantly, this year MCAA has gathered financial co-sponsors for the Skills Challenge. Throughout the year, we contacted a few large national suppliers to propose their sponsorship of the entire Skills Challenge event at $20,000. These companies were not receptive to this large donation amount, and we were left without any financial support, as we have been every year. Based on their feedback, asking for smaller donations was a more reasonable option.

We went back and approached these companies, along with many others, and garnered $17,500 in co-sponsorships from ACME Brick, Lafarge North America, Marshalltown Trowel, Quikrete, EZ Grout, and Non-Stop Scaffolding. Their financial assistance will help MCAA defray the costs of setup and tear down of the contest and help pay for the prizes presented to the winners. Next year we will attempt to acquire co-sponsors totaling $20,000, and increase the visibility and excitement surrounding the contest.

Another notable change to the contest is the elimination of many distractions for the contestants. In years past, contestants were required to arrive two days before the Challenge to be a part of an "Architect Exchange," and help build projects or a Habitat for Humanity home in partnership with the attendees of the Architects Symposium. This put a strain on many contestants because they had to pay for additional hotel nights and take time off of work. This year that requirement has been eliminated, and the contestants are invited to arrive the day before the contest to attend a dinner and rest up before the Challenge.

Also, in the past the Skills Challenge has occurred directly after the Fastest Trowel Contest on the Exhibit floor. Contestants often wanted to watch or even help with the Fastest Trowel, but were unable to because of preparing for their competition. They also had to share an audience with the Fastest Trowel, instead of having the focus on them. We have changed that by moving the contests to two separate days: Skills Challenge on Tuesday, Fastest Trowel on Wednesday. Now the contestants will be highlighted on the opening day of exhibits, and can see the Fastest Trowel the next day.

The other significant change to the contest is the addition of contractor input to the planning and coordination of the event. I have volunteered to be the Chairman of the Skills Challenge and consult on technical issues and details. I have reviewed the rules, judging criteria and projects that will be used this year, and have contributed a "bricklayer's perspective" to the plans. On the day of the contest I will be there to answer any questions and resolve problems that Staff does not have the tools to handle. With a MCAA contractor member at helm, we hope to increase the professionalism, prestige and quality of the contest.

Online Masonry Career Training Database
The masonry industry finally has a source for pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training programs with the creation of our Masonry Career Training database at masoncontractors.org. We have over 70 registered programs, and our ultimate goal is to have at least one training program featured in each state. MCAA is also working with the Canadian Masonry Contractors Associations to expand the site internationally.

Students who visit the Masonry Career Training database, actively being promoted through the High School Recruitment Campaign, will find detailed information about training offered in their area, including graduation requirements, tuition, and enrollment dates. This website is the industry's only comprehensive resource for these programs.

The featured programs enjoy increased attendance, contractor awareness, and industry support. Instructors, Promotional Directors, and School Administrators nationwide are working with Melissa to complete profiles about their programs. All the programs listed on the site have been screened by Melissa, and their administrators have committed to exclusively posting with us.

We are diligently working on expanding and maintaining the quality of the information and features of our Masonry Career Training website. Our Manager of Website Development, Tim O'Toole, is able to make changes and additions to our site at a moment's notice. He can update the database with new programs, new features, and new designs as we direct, ensuring that our information is always up-to-date and relevant.

Visit www.masoncontractors.org, and click the link to Masonry Career Training. You will find that our site is professional, detailed, and easy to use. As an industry we must communicate to young people in this way, in order to gain their attention and interest. By uniting behind this comprehensive resource, the industry profits from sending a clear message and professional image, as well as ensuring that masons are being trained properly. We have already proven this to NCMA, who was so impressed with our content and design, that they ceased maintenance of their masonry career training website and linked to ours.