Report of the MCAA Workforce Development Committee

High School Recruitment Campaign
The "Check Out a Career in Masonry" promotion campaign continues its success in our nation's high schools. It has introduced masonry to hundreds of thousands of young people who never before had knowledge of what our industry offers its workforce. We have received over 1,300 requests from counselors for our materials. To fund this program, we have acquired a total of $147,100 in sponsorships, allowing us to launch the program in over 720 schools. We are continuing our effort to fund this program so we can fulfill our commitments to the schools. We have produced a brochure and distributed it to every member of the MCAA in the states with remaining schools, and to all of those who have already contributed. This effort has already produced $8,400 in new funds. It will also be mailed to every NCMA and BIA member, and MCAA non-members.

As the second stage of the program got underway this year, we began communicating on a quarterly basis with the counselors who have received our career kit. We sent them newsletters via email and mail to remind them of our program's offerings (career days, brochures, posters), and updating them on our online database and industry news. The result of this communication is that we have fielded over 100 requests for career day presentations nationwide. This number is five times more than we received last year. The communication will continue with these counselors, and we expect next year's requests to increase even more. Based on this, we will be developing presentation materials to provide to those volunteers who visit these schools.

The next stage in this campaign is to establish pre-apprenticeship programs in many of these high schools. We will be surveying each school in the program to determine feasibility and interest level, and then work with SkillsUSA and our members to provide training if possible.

Skills USA
MCAA has received a letter from the Skills USA Masonry Technical Committee inviting us to rejoin as a full, voting member at a $2,700 annual donation. We have donated these funds to support the 2005 Championships in Kansas City in June.

Masonry Skills Challenge
The 6th Annual Masonry Skills Challenge (to be held on Thursday, April 20th) has exceeded our expectations in participation, sponsorship, and professionalism. Everything involved in the contest this year is improved, and we are proud to be a part of this event that will showcase our industry's workforce to the architect and specifier attendees in the audience. The Workforce Development Committee has had numerous meetings in the past few months to plan every detail of this event, from project drawings and materials, to show floor design and sponsors. Thank you to all the committee members who helped shape the success of this year's Skills Challenge.

The contest will include many new features based on feedback from past events and from the committee's dedication to showing the best that our apprentices have to offer. A Spanish translator will be on-hand to provide unbiased information to our Spanish participants. A brochure has been produced to give the audience information about each contestant and increase attendance. The uniforms provided to each contestant have been upgraded to a high-quality "work shirt". The second year apprentices will incorporate cast stone into their project, and the third years will use accent stone. All of these additions will come together to truly highlight the masonry workforce of tomorrow.

Contestant participation has increased in this year's contest through gaining two competitors from the Chicago area. Our goal for next year is to include contestants from Regions E and I.

We have also had increased participation from our industry's suppliers, and we have acquired $26,500 in sponsorship funding for this event. ACCI, Building Stone Institute, County Materials, Fraco, ICS Blount, Lafarge, MK Diamond, Multiquip, Non-Stop Scaffolding, Quikrete and SPEC-MIX have co-sponsored this event. Many of these companies have also expressed their dedication to co-sponsor next year as well. Materials have been provided by Quikrete, Sterling Handling Equipment, EZ Grout, Buechel Stone, Glen Gery Brick, Illinois Brick, and Northfield Block. The labor for this event has been generously donated by Quikrete.

Fastest Trowel on the Block
This contest has been moved from the Convention department to Workforce Development, and the committee has been working to plan this event with the same dedication as we have for the Skills Challenge. The contest has many exciting new features this year thanks to the effort put forth by our committee and the new sole sponsor of the contest, Quikrete. We are expecting a large turnout in attendance for the event on Friday, April 22nd because of the increased promotion and new features of the contest.

We have been actively promoting the contest through our website, email, and Masonry Magazine. We have also produced a brochure highlighting the contestants that is being distributed on the CSI side of the show floor through the Quikrete booth, and at the competition area. We believe these promotions will draw a large crowd, and help promote workforce development, the use of masonry, and future participation in the contest.

Materials have been provided by Quikrete, Sterling Handling Equipment, EZ Grout, and Northfield Block. The labor for this event has been generously donated by Quikrete.

Masonry Training Series
The MCAA has entered into agreement with AZMCA and the California Association to produce and sell a Spanish Translation of the Masonry Training Series Volumes 2 and 3. AZMCA and the California Association will provide MCAA with the Spanish translation text for publication and marketing. AZMCA and the California Association will purchase the English versions of the Masonry Training Series volumes, and then insert their own copy of the Spanish translation. AZMCA and the California Association will receive 50% (25% to each association) of the sales price of each Spanish Volume 2 and 3 sold quarterly, until their cost of the translation is recovered. The total cost is estimated at $4,000, not to exceed $5,000, and invoices for this cost will be provided to MCAA. Neither this cost breakdown nor the translations have been received to date.

Instructor Member Committee
Based on an improved invoicing and recruitment effort, the MCAA has gained 46 masonry instructors who are now active members of the Association. These instructors have been invited to form a sub-committee of the Workforce Development committee, and twelve of them are here at Masonry Showcase for their first meeting. Each year at convention, we will provide them with a meeting room to discuss the current trends in the masonry industry and in instruction. We will take their feedback into advisement regarding our committee's activities and initiatives. These Instructor Members are also the only instructors invited to judge the Masonry Skills Challenge, providing us with a skilled and reliable resource for this important role in this event.