Report of the MCAA Education Committee

Words: David HillThe committee had been charged with developing the Associations national certification program this past year and I am happy to report that we have developed a quality national program that is achievable and affordable. Details are being presented in Masonry magazine and at this year's Annual Meeting. We believe that this certification program will enable the association to market quality masonry and build the image of the industry.

In order for contractors to earn the educational credits to achieve certification, the committee has expanded the Associations educational offerings. We offered more educational sessions throughout the country giving members and non-members a greater opportunity to earn credits. In addition, we partnered with the Masonry Institute of Michigan to offer MV-Tech, an on line series of educational programs giving members yet more opportunities to gain education.

Keeping our programs current and relevant, we review our publication on a regular basis. We have partnered with the Laborers-AGC to revise our successful Rough Terrain Forklift manual. We expect the new publication to be available this spring.

A cornerstone of our new certification is the Masonry Quality Institute (MQI) which is a two day program dedicated to changing the culture in a contractors operation. MQI is a required course for certification primarily because our customers interest in MQI's promise to teach the philosophy of doing it right the first time and meeting the customer's requirements first time and every time.

The Year Ahead
The committee will be busy developing the National Certification Exam which we hope our first graduating class of certified mason contractors will be introduced this fall. We will be offering a masonry code seminar which is another required course for certification. We plan to offer continual educational course all year long and we will market these classes to the industry's contractors through our many promotional efforts such as direct mail, our website as well as through Masonry magazine.

We recognize that the associations educational services will become and increasingly more important service o our industry. And I believe that this new strong educational program and a quality certification program will increase the image and perception of the association.

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