SWTC looks to meet need for masonry grads

From thonline.com: “A career with a solid future” — It’s a job that dates to the building of the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman Coliseum, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

Throughout civilization, architects and builders have chosen masonry for its beauty, versatility and durability, according to Mason Contractors Association of America. Masonry resists the effects of time and weather, and it remains beautiful for centuries.

The association points out there are several opportunities to start a career in masonry because the industry is facing a shortage of skilled employees. As a trained and skilled mason, individuals will have the job security that promises a lucrative career for years to come.

No matter what the job, the skill and precision required by a mason cannot be replaced by machines.

The bricklaying and masonry population is aging, and the need for trained masons in the field is crucial.

Local help

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore is doing its part in addressing that shortage with a nine-month program. It gives students basic masonry skills.

In addition to the core bricklaying classes, they also take courses in estimating, blueprint reading and construction safety and health, which includes a 30-hour Occupational Safety & Health Administration class combined with First Aid/CPR certification.

According to Don Borchert, bricklaying program instructor and industrial occupations coordinator, the program is focused on hands-on learning, with students spending 20 hours per week in the lab working with the tools. The last eight weeks is spent doing community service projects for area communities.

“We treat this as a job site and incorporate the estimating, blueprint and safety aspects into these projects,” he said.

One of those service projects is Grant Regional Health Center’s (Lancaster) Memory Walk project. Borchert and his students have assisted with the project yearly since 2006.

Last year, they won the “Crews That Rock” competition sponsored by the World of Concrete trade show. To date, 200 to 300 pavers have been sold and installed in the memory garden, according to Sandy Leibfried, manager of the Grant Regional Health Center Foundation.

“As individuals purchase pavers, they are invited to participate in the installation of the pavers, which can be a very emotional moment,” Leibfried said. “Don and his students have been very respectful and responsible in assisting the families in the installation of the pavers. The students have been fantastic and hardworking every year. This project would not exist if it were not for Southwest Tech, Don Borchert, and the bricklaying students.”

Decline in workers

Borchert said there’s been a decline of bricklayers and trades workers in general due to the lagging economy and many workers retiring.

“With the growth of construction recently, and the reduced number of active bricklayers, the need is on the rise,” he said. “This is not just a Wisconsin or Iowa problem, it is nationwide.”

Karen Teske-Osborne, executive director of the Masonry Technology Foundation of Wisconsin, agreed.

“Well-trained masons are needed to continue to be able to build the highly desirable masonry structures,” she said.

“The masonry training programs at Wisconsin’s technical colleges helped produce graduates that either were accelerated in the apprenticeship programs or frequently excelled at their first jobs, advancing quickly to the level of foreman or even starting their own mason contractor businesses,” Teske-Osborne said. “The number of graduates do not meet the growing need.”

A lifelong skill

Nearly everywhere, you see the work of a skilled mason — in office buildings, homes, schools, factories, patios and fireplaces — and jobs aren’t sent overseas.

“Once you learn it, you can’t take it away,” Borchert said. “These are jobs that are staying in the United States. You can’t build a trowel that reaches from another country. Buildings have to be built here and they always will be.”

Borchert said the importance of the program to a potential student is that it gives that person a solid base to start from.

“Good marketable skills that contractors are looking for,” he said. “The pros for contractors is that Southwest Tech provides a source for employees — good, committed employees that are coming to work with the training process started. It is a very expensive investment for employers to train employees, and this gives them someone who can be productive from the start.”

Lyndal Anthony, an industrial technology instructor at East Dubuque (Ill.) High School, hears constantly from businesses about how hard it is for them to find skilled labor.

“In today’s ‘electronic information’ world, people/students seem to be looking for the jobs that are easy and pay lots of money,” he said.

Anthony said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that weekly income of skilled labor is more than the weekly income of a person with a master’s degree.

A lesser-known trade?

Anthony, who took a group of students to Fennimore last year to preview the program, experienced that many years ago when he decided to go to college. It was proposed that the income he could earn with a two-year degree was half of what he was already making as a machinist and even with his teaching degree today, it is still half of what he could make in a machine shop.

“I hear about a lot of construction, mechanics, welding, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) jobs where there are shortages of workers, but for whatever reason, I just don’t hear about masonry jobs, which does not mean that there aren’t masonry jobs available, I just don’t hear about them,” Anthony said.

“That is a shame. After taking my students to Southwest Tech to check out the masonry program, my students found that laying bricks was fun and easier to do than they thought it would be, so there has to be a huge misconception about masonry work.

“I would guess that, more than anything, there is a lack of information and masonry programs for people to be aware that there are a lot of jobs and a lot of money to be made in the masonry field.”

The association noted the wages of a skilled mason are one of the highest in the construction trades, but wages depend on where an individual works and who that person works for.

Bureau of Labor statistics indicate the 2010 median annual pay was $45,210, or $21.83 per hour. Teske-Osborne said the bureau projects that there will be a 41 percent increase in the labor force for masons from 2010 to 2020 while the increase for construction workers is projected to be 14 percent.

Data from Wisconsin NetForce show an entry salary range from $33,000 to $65,000. Experienced masons’ salaries range from $49,000 to $74,000.

“Southwest Tech’s bricklaying/masonry program offers a fantastic opportunity and great return on investment,” said Duane Ford, Southwest Tech president. “Students who invest nine months of their time and a current total of $5,430 for tuition, fees, tools and equipment can walk out of graduation into a good, family-supporting job. Financial aid is available for qualifying students. There are plenty of jobs.”