CONFRONTING SKILLS AND LABOR SHORTAGES

Best practices for confronting industry worker and skill shortages

Review any current construction industry trade publication and you are bound to see an article on workforce and skill shortages in the construction industry. Attend any industry meeting and ask contractors and union representatives to identify their biggest concerns, and having a sufficient number of skilled craftspersons for current and/or future work will be at the top of the list.

Contractors in the signatory sheet metal industry have important advantages over their non-union competition. SMACNA contractors are not alone trying to achieve their individual companies’ labor needs. They have union partners at the local and national levels fully committed to addressing this matter, and they have the collective resources and talents of their Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committees and staff to help address the shortage on an industry-wide basis.

Another significant advantage is being a part of an industry where labor and management groups that have successfully recruited, trained, and retained workers to meet their local requirements are more than willing to share their good ideas and proven strategies with their SMACNA and SMART colleagues throughout the United States and Canada. We are pleased to feature a number of those successful examples in this issue of Partners in Progress.

Recruiting new employees is not something that can be done at the last minute. It takes commitment, time, and passion to educate the future workforce about the incredible career opportunities in the signatory sheet metal industry. Education does not stop with potential employees as noted by industry leaders in “Planting the Seeds Early” on page 4. To be successful, educational efforts must also be directed at school principals, teachers, guidance counselors, and parents. Check out an innovative program in Dayton, Ohio, that allows high school students to work summers during their senior year and have a year of apprenticeship completed by the time they graduate high school. Oregon’s Train the Trainer program has inspired sheet metal worker volunteers from different backgrounds to learn how to best relate to and recruit new entrants.

Recruiting is critical, but the work does not stop there. Retaining those apprentices requires contractors and union leaders to collaboratively upgrade their JATCs to offer training on the latest and greatest industry technology. On page 8, we examine how local areas leverage their JATC accreditation status to qualify for grants offered by the International Training Institute (iTi). This funding provides students with opportunities to use robotics, augmented reality applications, and—in Local 104’s case—the JATC building itself as a simulated jobsite for training.

Great career opportunities, earning potential, and state-ofthe-art technology are all incredible apprentice motivators, but what else is needed? Mentoring is something that is repeatedly cited in the top five things that Millennials and iGen’ers are looking for in a career. “Mentoring Today” on page 11 describes how contemporary mentoring is very different from the “rite of passage/grunt work” approach that many tradespeople experienced during their introduction to the sheet metal craft in years past. Learn tips on effectively mentoring new people just entering our trade.

Apprentices certainly need mentors, but Deirdre McCarthy Gallagher reminds us in “Crossing the Finish Line with Facilitation” on page 13 that everyone can benefit from a facilitator that helps us to clarify our life and work goals, and a good support crew to help us cross the finish line.

It is well known that if you need something done, ask a busy person to do it. In this issue’s “My Journey” on page 20, Mechelle McNew describes what motivated her to leave her job as a bank teller to pursue a fulfilling career in the sheet metal industry. Mechelle is not only the first female SMART union business manager, but also, she has been vicepresident of the SMART Production Council, a member of the Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force, and financial treasurer of the SMART Recruitment and Retention Council. Her role as the first chairperson of the International SMART Women’s Committee makes her a great role model for women in the industry.

The Partners in Progress team strives to share industry best practices from SMACNA contractors and chapters, and SMART unions. Please share with us what initiatives labor and management are working on in your local area to improve our industry and our communities. And since we are wrapping up this issue of Partners in Progress as 2022 Construction Safety Week draws to a close, please also share what your area does to ensure that all in our industry return home from work safe every day. Forward information on your good ideas, programs, and practices to press@pinpmagazine.org.