PRESIDENT’S LETTER Martin Howard This month, we follow up on last month’s President Letter discussing how we become “Best in Class” contractors, and how one of the centerpieces is being skilled and trained craftspeople. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room; there is a serious shortage of young, talented workers entering the construction field as a career choice. In last month’s Editor’s Letter, we learned that in the 2016 U.S. mar- ket, the public consumed approxi- mately 2.8 billion sq. ft. of ceramic tile. Based on some quick num- ber crunching and lots of assump- tions, between 70,000 and 80,000 full-time tile mechanics would be required to install that volume of tile. This does not include install- ing any stone finishes. Even though the NTCA has approximately 1,400 members and CTEF has certified approximately 1,300 Certified Tile Installers nationwide, added togeth- er, it’s all a proverbial “drop in the bucket!” This doesn’t mean that most – or many – installers not belonging to one of these groups are unquali- fied; it DOES mean that we need to work hard to draw them in to a program of continuing education and training along with potential certification. Based on the number and scope of failures that exist in our trade, it’s safe to say that a siz- able number of those installing tile have neither been properly trained nor are seeking further professional development. I was talking with a general con- tractor recently about this issue, and we began to think about all the impediments that keep non-college aspiring young people from taking a serious look at the construction field as a career choice. We came up with several that might be worth our attention. On average, there are few organized training programs region- ally or nationally on the high school/ vocational school level that allow students to learn and earn a diploma or work at the same time. The only exceptions we could identify quickly were the electrical and mechanical trades, which also require certifica- tions – and in some cases, licensing – to climb the career ladder. Add to that, the often-poor working condi- tions on project sites such as limited elevators or buck hoists, non-air- conditioned work areas, and disor- Developing an attractive career path in the tile trade 20 TileLetter | July 2017