Hardwood Floors June/July 2019

FINAL COAT

By Michael Martin President & CEO, NWFA

Wood Flooring Training Goes Pro

hands-on training, this programoffers a competitive advantage for attracting new skilled labor. In the end, our goal as an association is to create a labor pool with consistent skills, where individual workers feel valued for their accomplishments.Thewhole industrywins, with fewer callbacks, replacements, and touch-ups because the labor pool is trained fromthe beginning in the industry. For someone entering theworkforcewho does not want a college degree (and for somewho go to college and still don’t want officework), construction jobs actually pay better thanmost other industries, according to the AGC. But this does not happenwithout a trained skill – the AGCnotes that depending on the skill level and geographic region, entry- level residential constructionworkers make anywhere from$12 to $20 per hour, and that can easily double or triple in the first five years. Nationwide, average hourly earnings in the construction industry are $28.55 per hour, a 2.2 percent increase from2016. To attract labor, wewill have to competewith these kinds of salaries, andwith an apprenticeship program, we can bring some of the brightest, most well-trained peoplewho have a love and passion for wood into the industry.With their help and your support, we can build a better, brighter, more sustainable future, bothwith product andwith talent. Find outmore at NWFA.org. g

According to the 2019 NWFA Industry Outlook Survey , nearly 70 percent of contractors are having problems finding the right people to hire. On top of that, nearly every contractor has turned down work recently because they didn’t have enough labor tomeet the demands of adding another job to the schedule. Couple the current labor shortages with an expectation that up to 31million baby boomers will retire in the next three years, as well as a long-termtrend away fromcareers in the trades, and thewood flooring industry can expect volcanic pressure on labor needsmoving forward. We have to do something! TheNWFA supports the efforts of groups like theNational Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) as they continue to lobby theTrump administration to shore up the Perkins Act, providingAmericans with technical education and career support, as well as putting pressure on education programs to offer non-college careers.While this advocacy is important, it’s evenmore critical that theNWFA aligns with these construction trade organizations to create a professional career path in the residential constructionmarket for the wood flooring industry. InMarch, after three years of workwith theU.S. Department of Labor (DOL), theNWFAnowhas a federally approved Wood Flooring Specialist Apprenticeship program.TheNWFAApprenticeship program is the only path to approval with

theU.S. DOL, and one our industry leaders are ready to build and support.Why? The first andmost important reason this programhas been established is to create a competitive advantage in the labormarket. Fewer people are entering the trades, and a recognized apprenticeship allows our industry to offer similar paths to those of an electrician or plumber, as well as the funding incentives that comewith it.We have to be able to offer advantages that other industries do not, and also recognize the special skills necessary to succeed in wood flooring thatmay not exist in other floor coverings or construction jobs. The approved programalso provides consistency across the industry and a pathwhere new labor can earn as they learn, workingwhile completing their apprenticeshipwith financial assistance. While it is a federally approved program, funding varies by state. Depending on your specific company designation, the federal government or the statewhere your company is basedmay be able to offer the employer and/or the employee financial support throughworkforce development grants, theGI Bill, andmore. Wewill beworkingwith every state to help you identify and develop a pipeline of talent where you live andwork. Having a professional accredited three- year apprenticeship puts thewood flooring industry on par with other trades that are vying for the same talent in a shrinking pool of applicants. Andwith the added incentive of potential funding at the federal and state level, alignedwith the NWFA’s well-defined path of online and

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