On October 31st, the CRA Education Committee met with John Schehl from the NRCA and Red Rocks Community College to review our training program. After more than a year, it seems a training program is coming close to fruition. John assisted in reviewing course material and context, as well as providing some other very insightful advice.

It has been a while since I have mentioned the training program, so here is a little refresher. We have been working with Red Rocks Community College to design and implement an Introduction to Roofing Training Program. We envision the students to be fairly new contractor employees who have shown some potential for advancement or who may be interested in furthering their knowledge in roofing. Courses will be offered for three hours once per week for a semester. It will include both class and lab time to maintain the interest level of the students by actually working with some of the products and tools. The curriculum will include safety, career path possibilities, and of course an introduction to several different types of roofing. The course material for the curriculum will largely originate from NRCA training modules, manufacturer instruction guidelines, and guidelines from organizations like the Tile Roofing Institute. The courses will be taught by a Red Rocks instructor on their campus. The instructor will need the assistance of members from the CRA who would like to volunteer, in particular with the lab portion of the course and possibly monitoring some class time as well. The goal is not to produce foremen or even journeymen but perhaps a good apprentice familiar with terminology and basic procedures. Not to mention, we may find out who our dedicated employees are. All of this will be offered at a cost far less than any of us could train an employee "in house". The cost should be much less than $1,000 per person per semester with a limited enrollment quota from each company. If all goes well, it may be possible to increase the number of students and offer more advanced courses.

John had several pieces of advice for us, but I would say the one that stood out the most was the phrase, "what's in it for me?" At first, the question was slightly confusing but then John went on to explain the question is being asked from the student or employee's perspective. John feels this piece of advice is so important he had an abbreviation for it, WIFM. You know it is important when there is an abbreviation. The WIFM outlines the different career opportunities available in roofing and shares how starting at the bottom and working your way up is how many people excelled in this industry. Not to get off track but we commonly lose sight of motivating our employees due to our concern about so many other things, yet it is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. John also warned one of the most common reasons for failure of such programs is due to lack of participation from the organization sponsoring the program.

I believe it is in all our best interests to guarantee the program is a success as the caliber of employees dramatically effects how we all do business. Finding qualified employees is not only a problem within our industry but one that spans across all industries. Recently the Wall Street Journal noted 52% of US companies are having problems filling job openings, largely due to inexperience and lack of technical skills. When you factor in the record high unemployment rates, especially in the construction industry, it emphasizes the need for training.

Let's imagine an optimistic future with the economy turning around in the next couple years. If we do not train with a "now for later" mentality this will translate to a major problem in filling positions with qualified personnel and therefore a full-fledged rebound in our economy will be hindered. If we can increase the quality of our labor force across the board, it is one less (or lesser) problem we all have to deal with and doing it now as opposed to later will pay off substantial dividends down the road.

Kirk Tiley
Tiley Roofing, Inc.
CRA President