Qualified Remodeler Magazine

JAN 2017

Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.

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GENERATING INTEREST Remodeling work requires comprehensive knowledge about an array of trades and the ability to perform mul- tiple construction tasks on any given day. Contractors who cooperate with training programs regularly and lend their technical assistance to apprentices provide valuable guidance for individuals seeking to improve their lives and relieve the stress on employers within the industry. "I want these students to be exposed to local remodeling companies [in which] a guy pulls up in a nice, new truck, has tools, works for himself and is proud of the work that he does," Smith says. "You've got to get involved. We can't sit back and say our public school system is failing us, or our workforce is failing us … get involved [locally] and help shape the workforce of tomorrow." e Great Recession exacerbated the propensity for graduates of a four-year college to discover limited—or even nonexistent—job opportunities. Parents also realized workers, but many people today lack malleable skills for construction. Employers ought to think differently about developing their skilled labor and focus on giving their support to trade schools and other training programs that high schools around the country have increasingly discontinued. "We want people to understand that our job is not just an archaic job of the past. It is a job of the future, and one that can't be outsourced," says Smith, who emphasizes the role technology plays in construction to change the mindset of students questioning the stability of a career in building and remodeling. "Free trade or not, we're not building a house overseas and shipping it here." Colorado Construction Institute in Denver has received more federal and state funding over the last few years, says Michael Smith, executive director. Photos: Colorado Construction Institute SPECIAL REPORT: Labor Shortage 44 January 2017 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com

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