Report of the MCAA Education Committee

Words: Danks Burton

Live Webinar Series

Over 1,500 attendees registered for nearly sixty webinars in 2018. Approximately 700 attended the live presentations with the balance watching on demand recordings. Topics ranged from OSHA investigations and jobsite safety to quality assurance and business success for masons.

Nearly every webinar in 2018 was offered at no charge to both MCAA members and non-members. The free webinars allowed the MCAA to collect vital information on which topics are important to mason contractors, and create custom marketing programs to target specific contractors about upcoming opportunities. Additionally, the MCAA was able to obtain valuable contact information from non-members to promote membership to their companies.

Visit www.masoncontractors.org/live to view a list of upcoming webinars for 2019.

Workplace Violence Policy

The Committee is working on developing a workplace violence policy template for contractors to utilize. A webinar related to workplace violence is also being developed that would help contractors customize the policy.

Foreman Development Course

The Education Committee is working to redevelop the MCAA’s Foreman Development Course. The goal is to modernize the course materials by including relevant examples and inviting current mason contractors to speak with attendees throughout different sections of the course.

Additionally, the Committee is looking into the possibility of developing a Foreman Development II program which would cover more details than the first program.

Detail Videos

The Education Committee is looking into the development of short videos that focus on details of the jobsite. Suggested topics include:
  • Covering Walls
  • Flashing
  • Material Handling
  • Mixing and Retempering Mortar by Hand
  • Proper Lifting
These videos would be produced in conjunction with MASONRY and would likely be included with a written piece. The videos would be available on both the MCAA and MASONRY websites.

XYZ University Survey and Whitepaper

The MCAA worked in cooperation with XYZ University LLC this past August to conduct a research project on the state of the masonry industry. Both MCAA members and non-members were surveyed on a number of items related to workforce recruitment and retention.

The survey found:
  • 81% are experiencing difficulty finding skilled talent with only 6% struggling to retain skilled talent
  • Over the next 18 months, 66% of respondents expect the rate of employees retiring or transitioning to another job to increase, but only 4% of respondents expect that rate to decrease
  • 79% said their company has current job openings with only 17% not having any current job openings
Full results were published in a three-part white paper in the November issue of MASONRY.

Spanish Translations

MASONRY magazine published multiple articles in Spanish throughout 2018. Additional technical talks and safety toolbox talks will be translated in the near future.

The Year Ahead

The Education Committee will continue to provide top quality education programs to mason contractors and work to develop new courses for the masonry industry.
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