Masonry Magazine August 2014 Page. 35
MAS5308_August2014_MAS 7/22/1 4 10:16 AM Page 33
Shown Is aSklllsUSA competitor In action
The partnership comes at a time when the industry is struggling with workforce development issues created by a number of factors, including the recession. Du.ring the downturn in the economy, some marketplaces had to let go of as much as 70 percent of their workforce, says Jeff Buczkiewicz, MCAA president and CEO. Many left the industry for jobs in other fields, including �racking: "The industry is still seeing shortages in the workforce, and we probably won't get some of those folks back."
Another factor in the shortage ofskilled workers is an aging population. ''As an industry, we know our craft people's medi�an age continues to go up and not down;' says Buczkiewicz. "It's not curving down, the recession compounded our prob�lem by not permitting us to train and intergrate the new work�force. As a result, we need to work extra hard to make sure we catch our recruitment levels to levels that are desired.
"Our craft is under employed, and there will definitely be a shortage ofskilled crafts people out there:' he continues."We're trying to get ahead of the curve and feed the apprentice pro�grams as the economy rebounds:'
A major aspect of the workforce development initiative will promote masonry training at secondary and post-secondary education levels, ensuring seamless articulation between Sec�ondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and Post-secondary Technical College programs.
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August 2014 � MASONRY 33