Masonry Magazine August 1998 Page. 32
In an effort to improve that situation, we helped establish a masonry pre-apprenticeship program this year through the Spokane Skills Center. The Spokane Skills Center provides 36 career specialization programs for 11 Eastern Washington school districts. The Center operates in conjunction with and as an extension of 31 high schools residing within the school districts.
When we approached the Center's construction trades instructor in January with the idea for a masonry program, we anticipated launching such a program during the 1998-99 school year. As it turned out, the construction trades instructor who has a background in both education and the construction field was so enthusiastic about the idea that he wanted to start it the next semester, which was only a month away. We decided to go for it, knowing that we would have to modify and adjust the program as we went along.
As part of the program, students are taken on field trips to the Bricklayers Union's apprenticeship school, to a local block plant, and to a local brick plant. Students are introduced to various bricklaying tools, taught job safety, and learn about masonry math. They also learn about mixing mortar and grouting masonry, and actually take part in laying brick and block under the guidance of journeymen bricklayers and hodcarriers. This last event sparks some great interaction between the students and the journeymen. Several times, I've seen students take the journeymen over to the side and ask good, hard questions about careers in masonry. Because of this interaction between potential workers and journeymen, it's important to handpick journeymen who have a high respect for their trade to take part in such events.
The bricklayers and hodcarriers seem to discover renewed pride in their trades by helping the students. Our experience has been that, although some journeymen initially were skeptical of the concept, they all ended up feeling that the high-school program was a positive thing to do.
In September, we plan to invite students from all 31 high schools involved in the Skills Center to attend a Masonry Career Day. Students will be able to talk to masonry representatives about careers in masonry and will be encouraged to get down and dirty by laying block and brick.
We also are in the process of producing television commercials and videos
Jouneymen show students and teachers at the Spokane Skills Center how to lay masonry blocks.
in conjunction with the Skill Center and other trades. The television commercials will recruit students to the Skill Center pre-apprenticeship programs, while the videos, which will go out to area school counselors, will discuss career opportunities in the trades.
Close Partnership with WSU
We operate several successful programs in conjunction with Washington State University, a big state school located about 75 miles southeast of Spokane, in Pullman, Wash.
One of our first efforts there was with the School of Engineering. Back in the 1980s, in conjunction with local masonry suppliers, we began paying for a professor to teach a Masonry Design course to structural engineering students. That course was so successful that after a few years, WSU decided to offer the Masonry Design class as part of its regular Engineering curriculum. Today, 25 to 40 senior structural engineering students take this class each year.
In a related project that's been very successful for both the masonry industry and WSU, each year we provide financial support to a graduate student who does a masonry-related research project. The benefits of this are two-fold: because we collaborate with the student on the topic of his or her research, we get information that we need. We also get an engineering student who is more knowledgeable about masonry entering the work force. Last year's student, for example, got a job with the National Concrete Masonry Association. Other students who have taken part in this program have gone on to jobs in engineering firms in Spokane, Seattle and Portland, and because of their experience have been designated the "masonry specialist" for their firms. In addition, the research papers the students produce are of such high quality that they've been published by The Masonry Society and presented at the North American Masonry Conference and the Canadian Masonry Conference.
We also provide travel expenses so that architecture and engineering professors can attend the University Professors Masonry Workshop. This workshop, which is sponsored by national masonry organizations, gives educators an overview of the industry, plus specifics on how to incorporate masonry issues into their classrooms and curricula.
Other Programs in Architecture, Construction
In conjunction with WSU's School of Architecture, we work with local suppliers to sponsor a masonry design competition for third-year architecture students. About 50 students compete each year to design a specific project out of masonry.
As part of this program, we lecture on