By Evelyn Witterholt. 

We spoke with business specialists about their partnership with SkillsUSA and the way they’re serving to encourage future roofing professionals. 

For over 50 years, SkillsUSA has been serving to construct the long run workforce by coaching college students within the trades. Annually, they host the SkillsUSA Management and Abilities convention and for the primary time this yr, they placed on a industrial roofing competitors. In a latest episode of Learn, Hear, Watch, we spoke with Jennifer Ford-Smith, head of product administration at Johns Manville and John Esbenshade, director of workforce improvement at Nationwide Roofing Contractors Affiliation (NRCA), about their work with SkillsUSA. 

At this yr’s convention, Johns Manville and NRCA teamed as much as create the primary industrial roofing competitors. The 2 determined to do that to assist the long run workforce spark an curiosity within the roofing business. With our business rising at a fast fee, Jennifer informed us that recruiting the youthful generations is extra necessary than ever. 

“The Affiliate Builders and Contractors group estimates there’s about 550,000 jobs which might be going to have to be stuffed simply in 2023 alone,” she mentioned. “There’s plenty of alternative in our business. There’s plenty of various kinds of jobs, however we’re simply having a tough time filling them.” 

The 2 joined forces to boost cash for the competitors and so they even obtained roofing producers like TAMKO to offer supplies for the convention. For the industrial roofing competitors, they’d college students construct a mockup of a low-slope roof with a fringe edge wall, pipe flashing and welded thermoplastic. John informed us that the NRCA had the scholars construct these mockups in keeping with their ProCertification® requirements.  

“We do attempt to maintain that commonplace ProCertification as being the purpose for the scholars who’re taking this on, as a result of that is what you are ultimately going to must do to have the ability to be a ProCertified installer,” he mentioned. “We’re not simply attempting to set these college students as much as be ok, we’re attempting to set them as much as be wonderful, to be leaders of their area, and so we need to maintain them to the very best commonplace potential.” 

Try your complete Learn, Hear, Watch to study extra about SkillsUSA and discovering future roofing professionals.