RECIPE FOR A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

News publications have written incessantly about the unprecedented industry, social, and economic impacts attributed to the global pandemic. What is fascinating is that some organizations did not merely survive the past year-and-a-half. They thrived despite COVID. If you would like your business, Local, or Chapter to be able to do likewise, read on.

Part IV of the Partnership series focuses on resources and programs available today to help SMART Locals, SMACNA Chapters, and contractors recruit their future workforce, communicate to potential customers the advantages of hiring union sheet metal contractors and craftspersons, and expand market share.

For inspiration and proven ideas for successful joint labor-management programs, turn to page 4, “75 Years Later: The SMACNA & SMART Partnership – What Now? What’s Next?” Working together does not have to be a costly endeavor at the local level. The SMACNA-SMART Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force (BPMETF) has professionally developed customizable recruiting and marketing tools available to local parties free of charge.

By the way, bringing apprentices that have the potential to aspire to leadership in the sheet metal industry to the Partners in Progress Conference is also a Best Practice recommended by the BPMETF. In this month’s “My Journey” on page 11, we hear first-hand from a fourth-year apprentice who will attain full journeyman status in August. Before joining the sheet metal trade, Jeffrey Grill was not mechanically inclined. Jeffrey’s hard work and the education he received turned that weakness into one of his biggest strengths—understanding mechanical systems and being the handyman that can fix anything. Jeffrey has career aspirations inspired by technological advancements he learned about when he participated in the 2020 Partners in Progress Conference.

A perfect example of resilience in the sheet metal industry is featured in “Large Scale Partners” on page 6. To successfully perform on the largest, highest-profile project to hit Cleveland in 20 years required SMART and SMACNA partners to collaborate on workforce projections, county inclusion goals, skills training, safety, and PPE—daunting tasks during the best of times. Fortunately for the customer and the employees, T.H. Martin and Local 33 had a solid partnership and leadership in place that allowed them to exceed the productivity and safety challenges presented by a complex project during a pandemic.

The skilled labor shortage that has been projected for the construction industry for many years is in full surge in many North American SMACNA and SMART jurisdictions. The increase in demand coupled with large numbers of older workers retiring will require industry partners to find the most effective ways to attract and retain Millennial and Gen

Z workers. Find out the best methods and messages to bring career opportunities to the attention of your future workforce by reviewing the four tips for “Shaping the Next Generation of Construction Professionals” on page 9.

Newsflash to my mother and most parents everywhere—all those hours in front of a television during our formative years did not necessarily rot our brains as you warned. We learned valuable life lessons about leadership, risk, and creative problem-solving from the most unconventional sources. The Trekkies among us will know how the Kobayashi Maru training exercise tested the character of Star Fleet Academy Cadets by asking them to choose between no-win choices to respond to an emergency. Learn on page 12 what James T. Kirk did to be the only cadet whose ship and crew survived the simulation in tact. The SMACNA and SMART partners who can exercise the type of leadership skills, adaptability, and resilience Cadet Kirk did are the ones who will thrive, carrying on their essential work despite a pandemic or any unprecedented or unanticipated emergency. ▪

« SMACNA-SMART Partnership Turns 75 in 2021 »

SMACNA and SMART have been Partners in Progress for 75 years, and it is time to celebrate. Tell us about your partnership success story, share your organization’s partnership initiatives, or send in photos—recent or historical—that show off your labor-management partnership. Contact editor@pinpmagazine.org.

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