Roof Workforce: Roofing Industry's Absence at SkillsUSA Should Change
Roofing Contractors lag behind other trades in fertile recruiting ground for talent.
As we at Roofing Contractor continue to cover the roofing industry’s workforce shortage from multiple angles, ongoing education programs and recruitment efforts have been and continue to be main focal points.
RC Editorial Director Rick Damato continued his quest for more insight as to where the future roofers of tomorrow are coming from and what their career landscape will look like by attending a unique national conference that put young tradesmen’s skills to the test.
SkillsUSA, a national membership organization serving middle-school, high-school, and college/postsecondary students. SkillsUSA membership consists of more than 335,000 students and advisors organized into 18,000 chapters in 52 state and territorial associations. In addition to grooming the next generation of skilled trades workers around the country, the organization’s mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible citizens.
Each year, the organization hosts a national competition participants compete in an a trade show sponsored by businesses, trade associations and labor unions interested in attracting students to their respective fields. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians were all present and accounted for, but roofers were notably absent, Damato noted in his recent Editor’s Note.
Though roofing work was scant, he still felt these videos and photos were worth sharing with RC readers. Perhaps some will be inspired to get involved with SkillsUSA or even sponsor a crew at an upcoming competition.
