Government Affairs: Mr. Schmitt Goes to Washington

Words: Stephen Borg

The 1939 movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was nominated for 11 academy awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Many movie buffs believe this is the movie that truly made Jimmy Stewart a big time movie star. Never to be outdone, the MCAA decided it was high time we make our own star and take Mr. Schmitt to Washington!

This June, Jeff Buczkiewicz and myself had the pleasure to watch a star in action as our very own Lanc Schmitt, new co-chair of the MCAA Legislative Committee, met us out in Washington, D.C. for a round of meetings with his home state Members of Congress from Oklahoma and leaders in the education and workforce development space. We had a great time introducing Lanc to Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and furthering discussions with leadership on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Career and Technical Education Caucus.

For those who haven’t been engaged or paying attention to what MCAA is doing in the career and technical education space and with their foresight in implementing new AI tools to advance the safety, efficiency, and workforce of our industry you are really missing out. I would encourage you to take a deep dive and help us spread the message to Congress on what we have at our doorstep. From the reactions we heard from every office we met with, Congress is incredibly intrigued by our initiatives and wants to engage as we continue to roll these programs forward. During our time we focused on the below two programs:

Workbased Learning Program - The program was initially launched as a masonry apprenticeship program in North Carolina in 2017. It aims to create a pipeline of skilled workers by offering high school students hands-on experience in masonry. Students work on job sites during the summer, spring break, and Saturdays, earning high school class credit as well as competitive starting wages. Safety and well-being are prioritized through specific instruction regarding safety concerns on job-sites during regularly scheduled classes. All students will have at minimum a 10 hour OSHA class and are encouraged to complete the 30 hour OSHA in class. In addition, students are required to check-in with instructors to make sure they have no concerns regarding safety on site. We were also able to highlight similar programs that states such as Oklahoma are engaged in and expanding as well.
Hands-On CTE Testing Techniques – MCAA has developed a very innovative set of software tools utilizing AI that will allow school districts and CTE programs to move away from paper-based, multiple-choice tests, and begin using state of the art scanning equipment to judge and grade masonry students actual projects. We believe this will have two main objectives; the first being attracting more students to go into CTE pathways who may otherwise shy away from “typical” classroom settings and tests as this will allow them to use their hands to showcase their growth and understanding, and second, it will allow mason contractors the opportunity to understand if students are truly well trained which will help bridge the current disconnect that exists with the definition of a career ready high school graduate when used by the education community and what a career ready graduate means to industry.

We are at a point within our industry where we need to spread the word far and wide about our dire need for the next generation of masons and we made great strides in early June. If you have questions about what we are working on and how impactful coming to Washington can be please reach out to Lanc, Jeff, or myself. And if you have always wanted to be a star, follow in Mr. Schmitt’s footsteps and join us in DC for your own adventure!

Government Affairs: Mr. Schmitt Goes to Washington

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