Nearly all NRCA members and an increasing number of roofing industry professionals have heard about SkillsUSA— a national trade student competition offering disciplines in more than 110 contests spanning all aspects of the construction industry.
Two years ago, roofing was added to the disciplines. Since then, participation in SkillsUSA roofing contests and enthusiasm for the industry continues to gain momentum.
Getting started
SkillsUSA was founded in the 1960s to help develop the next generation of trade professionals with a passion for their crafts. This year, about 17,000 teachers, students and administrators assembled to compete in SkillsUSA’s national championships in Atlanta.
Although SkillsUSA has been around for decades, it wasn’t until 2022 that NRCA established a formal partnership with the organization. NRCA began engaging with a group of SkillsUSA state directors who are charged with organizing more than 110 contests in their states each year. All states offer secondary-level contests for high school students and postsecondary-level contests for college students.
NRCA successfully persuaded some of these states to begin including a Commercial Roofing contest. The first Commercial Roofing state contest was hosted in Virginia in April 2022. Sherri Miles, president of J.D. Miles & Sons Inc., Chesapeake, Va., had been making inroads with her community’s career and technical education construction program for years. With the advice of SkillsUSA’s state directors, she helped launch what is now an annual contest in her state. The Virginia Association of Roofing Professionals assists with organizing and running the contest that is heavily based on NRCA PROCertifcation® standards.
Students who participate in the state competition are trained by a J.D. Miles & Sons team of PROCertified® professionals and enroll in NRCA’s Training for Roof Application Careers Thermoplastic Roof Membrane Installation course. The students learn to install single-ply membrane using the same materials and mockup design used for NRCA’s PROCertification Thermoplastic Systems Installer certification.
“Our staff love teaching the students,” Miles says. “The first step for contractors wanting to get involved is participating in a CTE school’s advisory board. If there’s a carpentry or building sciences course, volunteer to be a speaker. Offer to bring in a welder and let the students do some hands-on welding.”
Expanding efforts
Fast-forward two years to 2024. There now is a national Commercial Roofing contest held annually in Atlanta.
This year, there were 11 competitors, including eight in the secondary division. Two of the secondary division competitors competed in 2023 and returned for another shot: Brandon Lopez from Simpsonville, S.C., and Mia Pulido from Hammond, Ind.
Each competitor has a story, and each one wants to win the championship belt for his or her division. The prizes are big, too: $1,200 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $800 for third. Some prepared by doing internet searches and self-instruction, and others completed NRCA’s thermoplastic roof membrane TRAC course (which is free to all CTE schools nationwide).
The 11 low-slope mockups for the contest were made possible thanks to donations from Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, Atlanta; IB Roof Systems, Grapevine, Texas; and Johns Manville Roofing Systems, Denver. The team at Mid-South Roof Systems, Forest Park, Ga., delivered and assembled the mockups, later disassembling them to be stored by the Georgia Roofing Contractors Association.
Each mockup measures 8 by 8 feet, and competitors are judged for their ability to measure and cut insulation board around flashings, measure and cut sheets, weld seams, run a termination bar up the parapet wall, field-fabricate a corner and install T-patches where needed.
“SkillsUSA has the capacity to change the way the roofing workforce looks in the future,” says Tim Stephens, vice president of operations at Architectural Sheet Metal Inc., Orlando, Fla. “It’s difficult to put into words if you haven’t seen it, but roofing is there front and center. It’s basically the newest contest in the construction industry, and we’re setting new standards of excellence.”
Stephens has been a part of this effort since 2022, conducting the first Commercial Roofing mockup demonstration that year.
“The students were excited to be part of the Commercial Roofing competition,” Stephens says. “And the industry was excited to welcome them.”
Stephens also holds the distinct honor of being the first sponsor to send students to compete in the 2024 secondary and postsecondary divisions. It speaks volumes to the level of dedication he has volunteered to the effort.
TeamWorks
In addition to the Commercial Roofing national contest, SkillsUSA holds a national TeamWorks contest where teams from 48 states compete to build a shed that includes carpentry, masonry, electrical, plumbing and roof system components.
The roof eyebrow is designed for asphalt shingles. Every fastener and inch of underlayment was donated by Atlas Roofing Corp., Atlanta; SRS Distribution Inc., McKinney, Texas; and TAMKO Building Products Inc., Joplin, Mo. Teams have two days to build their shed, and few competitors finish. The TeamWorks contest is designed to require foresight and planning. Students don’t get the chance to review the plans beforehand; they are expected to prepare the set and create an efficient build process while constructing the shed.
In addition to the SKillsUSA and TeamWorks contests, a SkillsUSA Techspo (similar to a trade show) is held where companies and associations exhibit alongside the contests they help sponsor.
Roofing pavilion
Within the Techspo is NRCA’s roofing pavilion. This is where competitors have the opportunity to mingle with NRCA leaders and staff and ask questions about the industry.
This year, the roofing pavilion included a 20- by 40-foot scaffolding platform to allow participants the sensation of walking on a roof. Johns Manville Roofing Systems representatives volunteered to apply a layer of OSB and single-ply membrane and welded a few seams so people could get the real feel of walking on a commercial roof system.
From this perch about 20 feet in the air, students, teachers and Ty Pennington from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and other HGTV programs learned how to weld single-ply membrane from Johns Manville Roofing Systems experts.
Attendees also had the opportunity to learn what a square is and how to calculate how many squares and penetrations make up a large commercial site; learn about common roof system repair and maintenance work; take a chance on a prize wheel to win prizes; and experience augmented reality courtesy of Division 7 Roofing, Galena, Ohio.
“I recommend people go to SkillsUSA to see what it’s all about,” says Doug Duncan, NRCA’s chairman of the board and president of Nations Roof, Villa Park, Ill. “The NRCA team has done an incredible job organizing the contest and the roofing pavilion. The conversations I had with students absolutely restored my faith in the future of the industry. ”
2024 secondary division
The secondary division featured eight students:
The sponsors arranged for material donations; sent trainers to conduct hands-on instruction; guided students through NRCA’s TRAC course; sponsored a state contest (donating materials, tools, judges, etc.); and paid the costs to send the winner of their state contest to compete in the national contest in Atlanta.
Many students arrived the day before the Commercial Roofing national contest to practice at the roofing pavilion. All students were required to take a written exam before the hands-on contest. This year, one student received a perfect score; and the winner in each division scored at least 96%.
The hands-on contest started with a tense silence as everyone in the roofing pavilion watched eight high school students go to work. The instructions were to complete the mockup within four hours.
Marinez from Florida and Pulido from Indiana worked next to each other. Marinez just graduated high school, and her father is a commercial roofing contractor. She wants to become a mechanical engineer and got involved with SkillsUSA through her school. Marinez’s parents came to cheer her on, and they set up folding chairs to watch their daughter do some quality work.
Lopez is a junior in high school from South Carolina. After being disappointed with placing third the previous year, he returned determined to do better. His girlfriend, who had her own contest to compete in, was there to show support. Later that evening, Lopez learned his hard work paid off: He won his division.
How to connect with CTE schools
For generations, career and technical education schools have been preparing students for careers in the trades. CTE schools include every skilled trade there is from cosmetologists to carpenters. Local industries backed by regional and national associations equip these schools and students with equipment, materials and eventually employment.
To start engaging with your local CTE schools, follow these steps:
2024 postsecondary division
The postsecondary division made its debut this year. SkillsUSA competitors consist of 80% in the secondary division and 20% in the postsecondary division. The benefit of having a postsecondary contest is the students can be hired on to crews immediately as they all are at least 18 years old.
Three states sent their champions to represent in the postsecondary division:
Hutcheson scored 971 out of a possible 1,000 points on the hands-on test and received a perfect score on the written test. His quality of work was on par with the best installers, and he won the post-secondary division.
Awards night
During the awards ceremony, 48 contestants were called on stage one at a time in State Farm Arena to receive their medals and have their moment at the podium. It was an energetic and massive event to cap off an already intense and exciting week.
When the finalists were announced for both roofing divisions, the competitors from those states cheered with pride. When Lopez’s name was announced as the winner of the secondary division, he was visibly emotional. Later backstage, the winners received their championship belts.
What’s next
By next year, SkillsUSA will be significantly more successful. If you’re not yet part of it, I encourage you to help form the future of the roofing industry’s workforce.
“I highly recommend you come to SkillsUSA and see what’s happening,” says NRCA CEO McKay Daniels. “We need our industry to get behind this at all levels. It is a big investment, but it is an investment that yields results.”
JOHN ESBENSHADE is NRCA’s director of workforce development.
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