Fechino Files: The Mortar Net Solutions Masonry Apprentice Scholarship

Words: Steven Fechino

The Mortar Net Solutions Masonry Apprentice Scholarship is open for applicants to apply for the 2023 November presentation. Scholarships are typically applied for by an instructor, Working Mentor or an Employer that has that special student that works hard every day. This year Mortar Net Solutions will offer 40 scholarships that support the Masonry trade, the Tile Setting Trade as well as the Stucco Trade. 

Requirements for the applicant are very simple, the student must have at least one year of training remaining before they top out, a student should desire to stay in the trades as a journeyman once they achieve that status, and they should benefit from the scholarship as it is designed to help keep the student that is working hard to achieve journeyman status, not for the student that is walking into a family-owned company where he will have it easy.  

The Apprentice Scholarship does not have a cost to the student, teacher or the training facility. The cost of the tools and equipment that are part of the tool bag are donated by Mortar Net Solutions and the masonry suppliers that support this industry with quality products that we use every day. The tool bag will be accompanied by a $350.00 check (is requested by the instructor once the scholarship tool bag is received) to partially cover some of the student's quarterly tuition.

Mortar Net Solutions asks that with every application, the student named is not made aware of the submission until the award is made. Something special becomes a great surprise to the hard-working person who receives the tool bag and learns that someone has believed in them. It is also important that the presentation be photographed and the photos submitted to Mortar Net Solutions so we can share the images with our sponsors to support all of the sponsors' social media platforms. Submissions can be sent to gskyta@mortarnet.com. The social media presence will elevate the popularity of the training facility as well as the sponsor that donates time and effort to this worthy effort.

Please submit a student today, https://mortarnet.com/mason-apprentice-scholarship/. This scholarship is designed to help build this trade with the special folks that really want a better life, and all of our company's management, corporate sponsors and instructors across the country depend on honesty to make this successful for all involved. 

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact me directly at sfechino@mortarnet.com. The more sponsors that become part of this effort, the better experience it will be for all involved.

GEN NXT: Mason Paolini
May 2026

This month, the MCAA got to talk with Mason Paolini, a mason who has a clear passion and talent for the trade he has such high praise for. Read about Mason’s story and why he sees a future in this industry. Mason Paolini’s career began with a simple desi

Marvelous Masonry: Tianjin Zhongshuge Library
May 2026

It is not unusual today for masonry to be treated as a surface decision rather than a structural one. Too often, brick enters a project late in the process, trimmed back by budgets or reduced to a veneer once the “real” building work is finished. The Tian

Fechino Files: Concrete Pavers around a Pool
May 2026

Many folks over the years have placed concrete pavers around their pool as a nice form of decorative pool deck. Early in the 2000’s, I took a class held by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute, then known as the ICPI. At the time I attended the class

Chairman's Message: Staying the Course
May 2026

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. There’s energy in the air. Jobs are picking up. Crews are hitting their rhythm. Schedules are filling up. You can feel momentum building again. And every year around this time, I find myself thinking about con