Article Calls for Future-Focused Training
Date Posted: September 22, 2013
Posted In: White Papers,
John Gaal, Ed.D., is an educator who believes that construction training programs should focus on the industry of the future and not that of the 1950s. That’s the conclusion of an article Gaal authored which was published in mid-September by the Online Journal for Workforce Development.
Gaal, the director of training and workforce development for the Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis & Vicinity (CDC) believes that many programs which target non-traditional workers for construction are using an outdated model which ignores the technology that is raising the bar of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills that will be required if workers are to use new tools and systems without being replaced by them.
The article is the result of surveys conducted in St. Louis and at the international union level by Gaal (with some assistance locally from Dr. Deborah Henry of St. Louis Community College). It is titled “The Great Regression’s (sic) Impact on Construction Training Programs: Multi-Level Analyses of Recruiting and Retention Concepts.”