the same end, though not yet in unison. Associations such as CWDA, community foundations, manpower temp agencies, individual companies and governmental departments have continued to push the topic forward to various degrees. While the water is still muddy, let’s see if we can bring some clarity to the topic. While individual groups are competing for manpower, we are starting to see some trends emerge and movements in this arena. CWDA (founded by ABC, ASAM and The Home Builders Association – HBA) is one of the key leading groups supporting this effort. CWDA has been in existence for four years, with a goal of bring- ing awareness to construction job opportunities and training the next generation for the growth of our businesses. Recently I had the privilege of sharing CWDA success stories at a monthly ASAM meeting. Because of the following CWDA team efforts, we have seen the needle move on the part of high school students, teachers, and counselors related to construction manpower: • Long-term strategies include MiCareer Quest, whose con- struction exhibit booths show off construction trades to over 9,000 kids in our region. • Short-term strategies include high school outreach – we share career paths for all trades. • Teachers are now open to inte- grating curriculum with construc- tion story problems or scenarios for practical learning. • Providing jumpstarts into con- struction program and construc- tion summer camps, where stu- dents are hired after completion. Tuition is funded by CWDA. • Marketing efforts are re-branding construction as a viable profes- sion rather than a dirty, second- rate job. • High school counselors are challenged to realistically guide kids into the right career path, rather than 100% into college, because we know the dropout rate is over 50%. • Gearing up to team with state- led initiatives to get folks back to work, with Michigan Works Association (MiWorks) as our government partner. • Our local community college is partnered with us to supple- ment trades without apprentice- ship programs or help jump start their skills. Exciting news from the state level has pushed manpower and training to the forefront. Our busi- ness- minded governor instructed our state education leaders and business economic leaders to outline specific strategies to get kids better positioned for the real jobs. The draft directives on this list open the doors and mandate that schools in the future will need EDUCATIONAL FEATURE –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 88 TileLetter | February 2018