6 2018 | TECH Numbers don’t lie. The numbers tell us as leaders in the tile industry that we have a challenge we must overcome, and it is two-fold. First, we are facing a tile market poised for growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics fore- casts that prospective employment of flooring installers and tile and marble installers should grow at least ten percent by 2026, faster than the average for all occupa- tions. Technology in the tile industry, coupled with a healthy construction economy, creates opportunities to exceed these projections. This is the good news. The bad news is that currently it does not appear as if there are enough trained and qualified people working in our industry to meet this demand. Industry leaders are aware of this dilemma. In 2016, there were approximately 58,000 tile and marble set- ters working in the trade, and that is expected to grow to almost 65,000 in the next several years. As workers retire or leave the trade, we must not only replace them with new ones, we must recruit thousands more if we are going to help the industry meet expectations. The entire construction industry realizes that recruiting new people into the trade is a daunting challenge, so the competition to find quality people is fierce and the winners will be the ones that act quickly and aggressively. Ceramic tile installation takes years to master. Experts believe that to be a craftsperson who can master most tile installations, it requires a minimum of three to four years of experience in the field, coupled with a strong train- ing program to reinforce product knowledge and create awareness of industry standards and best practices. Training is the second part of the challenge that our industry is facing. It is not enough to just find workers to choose the tile industry over other career choices. Instead, we must make sure these workers are being trained and certified in a professional manner, helping them to estab- lish a strong career path and meet our industry needs. The National Tile Contractors Association is investing time and money into helping address this challenge. We have added professional staff to develop programs that can make a big impact on training, recruitment and certifi- cation. Here is a snapshot of how we see this developing: TRAINING AND EDUCATION Training and certification take center stage in the tile industry By Bart Bettiga Innovative manufacturing technology has created a stronger need for the development of training and certification programs. Training programs to create awareness of proper methods, standards and best practices are necessary to help meet the needs of the industry.