EMERGING VICTORIOUS

One of the most pressing issues the sheet metal industry and trades in general face is recruitment and retention. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry is going to need more than four million skilled laborers to replace the nearly eight million lost from the labor force during the pandemic. Filling those positions will be an immense challenge. Success in recruitment will depend on outreach and communication efforts, which include trade shows, connecting with students in the education system, apprenticeship program development, and educational partnerships.

The Partners in Progress Conference brought together more than 30 Emerging Leaders—individuals who have been in the industry for five or fewer years and who are 35 years old or younger—to establish networking, mentorship, and education for the future generation of sheet metal workers.

“Leadership is learned,” says Carol Duncan, co-chair of the Best Practices Market Exopansion Task Force, which is part of the Sheet Metal Industry Labor-Management Cooperation Trust. “The skills necessary to communicate, inspire trust, and build coalitions are something that take time to develop. Likewise, understanding our industry’s future— both the struggles and successes at the highest levels—are not something everyone gets sufficient exposure to in their current day-to-day roles.”

The Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force designed Emerging Leaders as an in-person opportunity for the future

“Local area partners were encouraged to choose emerging leaders who would ultimately bring diversity in race, gender, abilities, and gender identity to their leadership team.” —Carol Duncan, BPMETF co-chair

leaders of Chapters and Locals to experience just what current labor and management leaders see every day, in a fully collaborative environment where networking and problemsolving take center stage.

Chapters and Locals were invited to register two Emerging Leaders from their area (one labor and one management) to attend the conference. Those leaders’ registration fees wwere covered. Ideal Emerging Leaders were individuals who showed exceptional motivation, drive, and initiative to take on leadership responsibilities, informally or formally, in their current positions.

“Local area partners were also encouraged to choose emerging leaders who would ultimately bring diversity in race, gender, abilities, and gender identity to their leadership teams,” Duncan said. “They reflected the workforce of the future, where a broadening of ideas and experiences better allows the industry to recruit from a wide talent pool, truly demonstrating the commitment to being inclusive and diverse.”

The selection process was conducted in many different ways, from straightforward recommendations to applications and contests. Capital District SMACNA contractors and Local 83 JATC trustees stepped up the selection process a notch with an essay contest. Prospective attendees were asked to speak to their skills, strengths, community or industry work, and objectives for attending the conference. Six apprentices submitted essays, and each demonstrated the skills and ambitions the judges were looking for.

Jacek Wozniak is a contractor at MCD Metals in Albany, New York. He was involved in the essay selection process and felt that the emerging leaders program was a great new way to get new people interested in the conference and being involved.

“The essays were all good, and it was hard to choose just two,” he says. “In the two we chose, the style and structure were sound, and the contestants’ enthusiasm for the industry really came through.”

Dan Monahan, owner of JE Monahan, says of the three contractors and three JATC trustees judging the contest, everyone had their own ideas about who should be selected.

“We wanted to choose someone who wasn’t only an apprentice, but also someone who wanted to go above and beyond in the trade and the community. Those are the kinds of people who are driven. Several met that criteria, so it was difficult to pick.”

In the end, Makenzie Loomis and Brett Bowegot the call.

Frank Maguire, business manager for Local 83, says the initiative was great for getting young people involved and prepared to advocate for good labor-management relationships. He says Loomis has been very helpful in drawing interest to the sheet metal industry through her videos and posts on social media, demonstrating a day in the life of a sheet metal worker.

In her essay, Loomis said that the best way to fight for a spot in a non-traditional industry is to gain all the skills you possibly can, and this was one reason she wanted to attend the conference. She says she very much enjoyed herself because she was able to meet people in her line of work from across the country.

“I was excited to attend because I wanted to meet people face to face and learn more about opportunities in the sheet metal industry,” she says. “I made some nice friendships. I also spoke to some people about future interviews and helping with recruitment.”

Loomis joined the sheet metal industry because she was working on her welding career and loved that sheet metal allows people to work in full fabrication and build projects from the ground up.

One skill she brought home from the conference was better communication and the ability to network herself. “Not only does this skill help you grow in a career, but also it may help others,” she says. “My short-term goals are to specialize in welding and become a foreman. A long-term goal is to become the first female officer for our Local or maybe become the organizer.”

A moment from the conference she says she will take with her for the rest of her career was from DJ Allen’s talk during a breakout session titled Raising Rising Leaders. “He spoke about being a fan of others and encouraged us to cheer people on because it will truly bring you peace in your own life,” Loomis says.

Brett Bowe was chosen because he is a young, first-year apprentice and known throughout Local 83’s training center as someone who takes initiative and is good to work with. He also gives back to his community as a volunteer firefighter.

He wanted to attend Partners in Progress as a first-year apprentice because he thought it would provide a fresh perspective and allow him to connect with others at a similar place in their careers.

“I went to get to know people,” he says. “I got into my apprenticeship because my best friend was doing that and worked for his father. I wanted to start something new, and I am excited to see where I can go with it.”

Monahan believes the most important thing about the Emerging Leaders initiative was recognizing that young people are the industry’s future. He says they must be introduced to mentorship and leadership opportunities while they are just getting started.

“We can’t wait until they are set in their ways,” he says. “Education is the primary factor. We need to start them early and help them understand that the industry is not about ʻus vs them’ but rather, about working together. If we educate them early, they can start to talk to their peers in their classes and help those ideas spread.”

He notes that recruitment efforts in school, for instance, may not be as effective if delivered by “a bunch of guys in their 50s, because the young people can’t relate.”

“But, if someone who is 25 years old presents, students will talk to them and feel understood,” he explains. “This enhances recruitment more than just pushing papers around on the table.” 2022 was Monahan’s first Partners in Progress Conference, and he says he appreciated the chance to get together with labor counterparts outside of a working environment and take the time to get to know them personally.

“It was good to talk about families and golf and be able to sit together at meals and talk and interact,” he says. “These were big takeaways on top of great presentations.”

Maguire says getting young people to the conference is important because many Baby Boomer members are preparing to retire, and many of the youth attending now will be the ones taking over.

“The apprentices who attended realized that union and signatory contractors are in this together,” he says. “We are all looking to secure work for the future and have our workforce trained so we can staff these jobs and help our contractors grow and profit.”

He adds there was a lot to take in at the conference, including highly inspirational speakers and sessions that provided insight on the current and future economy and the direction in which the industry should move to grow for the future.

“As a construction trade, we need to move forward to be more diverse, and some of the breakout sessions showed how our recruiting processes in the past will not work for the younger workforce we hope to attract,” Maguire says. “I have been around for a long time, beginning in 1995 as an apprentice instructor, and have seen changes periodically with the workforce coming into the trades.

“I know, based on our relationship with the Capital District SMACNA contractors, we all have adjusted over the years to accommodate each new generation when necessary, and we will continue to do so to attract the best workers for the future.” ▪

Jessica Kirby is editor-publisher for Point One Media, a small but sturdy, family-owned trade magazine creator representing some of North America’s most successful construction associations. She can usually be found among piles of paper in her home office or exploring British Columbia’s incredible wilderness.