NGA board member Jodi Martinez, vice president of AllStar Glass, and her team will participate in Trades Night in Spokane, Washington, on Oct. 12, showcasing the glass and glazing industry as a long-term, rewarding career path to young people. The Associated Builders and Contractors Inland Pacific Chapter hosts the event for school age students and parents. Their goal? To change the story about the trades: construction is a great pathway for success.
One way to get more workers into the glazing industry is to expose young people to the trade—that’s what Trades Night, and events like it, aim to do. Martinez says “our future workers must be exposed to all of the highly lucrative and readily available careers in all of the construction trades,” but that the glass and glazing industry has been underrepresented or absent from these events in the past. She says the only way to change that is for companies to show up. “We all know there is more to construction than a carpenter, electrician and HVAC, but does the rest of the world know that?,” asks Martinez.
NGA staff will join Martinez and the AllStar Glass team at Trades Night, where ASG will have hands-on activities to provide a taste of what a glazier’s day looks like. Students can install an insulated glass unit into a mockup curtain wall and a mockup storefront, as well as fabricate architectural metals by assembling various framing. Participants will be led by an ASG journeyman glazier and provided appropriate PPE. Other ASG staff will also be on hand to answer any questions about a career in glazing and help navigate next steps, including job application/placement or online resources from the NGA.
The point of showing up and participating in hands-on experiences and training is to show the next generation there are promising occupations and viable career paths in construction, and encourage them to choose a career in skilled trades. “You never know who is going to hear your message and be the next great glazier,” says Martinez.
To that end, NGA staff will participate in the event to gather intel for developing resources for companies to participate in their own hands-on demos, training for young people, and hiring events in their own area. NGA is committed to helping the industry with workforce development throughout October for Careers in Construction Month, and every day into the future.
Check out some of the awareness and recruitment resources NGA currently offers: