45
COMMENT
Who’s who at the
Specialized Carriers
&Rigging Association
CHAIRMAN
RonMontgomery
Intermountain Rigging & Heavy Haul
Salt Lake City, UT
PRESIDENT
AlanBarnhart
Barnhart Crane and Rigging
Memphis, TN
VICE PRESIDENT
Bruce Forster
Rigging Gear Sales
Dixon, IL
TREASURER
DelynnBurkhalter
Burkhalter
Columbus, MS
ASSISTANT TREASURER
JohnMcTyre
McTyre Trucking
Orlando, FL
ALLIED INDUSTRIESGROUP CHAIRMAN
Eddy Kitchen
, Kitchens Crane &
Equipment
Chesterfield, VA
CRANE&RIGGINGGROUP CHAIRMAN
Larry Curran
, JJ Curran Crane Company
Detroit, MI
LADIESGROUP CHAIRWOMAN
KarenWood
,Wheco
Richland,WA
TRANSPORTATIONGROUP CHAIRMAN
Jay Folladori
, Landstar
Jacksonville, FL
SC&R FOUNDATIONOFFICERS
President:
RobertMoore,
NBIS
Atlanta, GA
Vice President:
Stephanie Bragg,
Bragg Companies
Long Beach, CA
Treasurer:
Jim Sever
PSC Crane & Rigging,
Piqua, OH
T
here’s a lot of talk thesedays
about the skilledworker
shortage and the fact that our
industry is getting younger everyday.
Andwhereas a significant piece of our
attention is perhaps occupiedby the
fluctuating ageswithinour corporate
offices, we also can’t deny that a youth
movementwould certainlybewelcomed
withopen arms on the jobsite, in the
machine shop and in the trucks.
The average college graduate carries
around$30,000 indebt (usuallyhauling
it right back tomom anddad’s house,
unemployed). According toExperian,
some 40millionAmericans nowhave
at least one outstanding student loan–
mostly associatedwith climbing tuition
and inadequate college savings (which is
up from29million in2008).Nationwide,
student loandebt has hit an all-time
record at $1.2 trillion.
Andwhileparents and educators across
the country continue toprep and groom
their kids for college, theremight be
a solution tomanyof the above issues
hidden inplain sightwithin almost every
school inAmerica: shop class.
Indeed, shop class probably isn’t
poppingupon asmany schedules as
it used to, but itmight be a littlemore
popular ifAmericans knew the benefits
associatedwith skilledwork– especially
in today’s post-academia (apocalyptic)
landscape.
Vocational emphasis
Well, thismight be changing. Companies
ranging fromToyota toSiemens to IBM
are leaningonAmericanhigh schools to
encourage their students topursue some
of thepractical skills that businesses
need in themodernmarketplace. And
this year, for the first time in adecade,
theU.S. government increased funding
for vocational educationwithinboth
high schools and colleges.Needless
to say, these efforts represent untold
potential for youngpeople, the country’s
strugglingmiddle class andof course,
the crane, rigging andheavyhaul
industry.
According to aGeorgetownUniversity
study, there are 29million jobs in this
country that pay $35,000 a year or
better – considered “middle education”
jobs. Around23millionof those jobs
require onlyhigh school or some slight
post-high school training. This type
of income, and these types of jobs, is
considered adirect path tobuilding and
sustaining theAmericanmiddle class
(and$35Kormoreprobably sounds
pretty good to aboomerang family).
Itwasn’t long ago thatAmerican
students inmiddle andhigh school
willingly jumped into shop class
and learned awealthof skills – from
woodworking to rebuilding engines
tometalwork. These skills translated
to a robustmiddle class, supportedby
millions ofAmericanmen andwomen
working in the skilled trades. This trend
gradually faded, as thehigh-tech era
emerged, and college-prep classes began
to replace thedesire to learn a trade.
Butwhatwe’re seeingnow is abit of a
reversal of that trend, even if but out of
necessity. Regardless,many folks inour
industry admit that this reversal can’t
arrive soon enough.
To support this trend, SC&RA
continues to encourage ourmember
companies topromote the skilled trades
withinour youngpeople.Weneed
welders,mechanics,machinists, drivers
–nowmore than ever – and thepower
of a group effortwill only add strength
to the trend.We’ll certainlydoour part
bypromoting the SC&RFoundation
–whichhas proudly awardedover
$380,000 in grants and scholarships to
students preparing for careers related
to crane, rigging and specialized
transportation, aswell as SC&RA
member company employees looking to
gain additional skills.
TheFoundationhas awarded$26,000
for 2014-2015 in the formof three
grants and seven scholarships. Someone
youknow couldbenext.Don’t hesitate
to take a look and apply atwww.scr-
foundation.org. Let’s reverse this trend
together.
■
OCTOBER2014
ACT
An emerging skilled
worker trendwill benefit
from our support.
EXECUTIVEVICE PRESIDENT
Joel Dandrea
5870 Trinity Centre
Parkway,
Suite 200
Centreville, VA
20120
Ph: 703-698-0291
Fax: 703-698-0297
Help still wanted
