9/22/2020

By Sara Vaughn, NRCA

Working from the idea that the roofing industry must offer clear career paths and proper training and education to attract more workers, the National Roofing Contractors Association developed its Qualified Trainer program. An NRCA Qualified Trainer is someone who has been trained by NRCA specifically to be an effective trainer in the roofing industry. 

The Importance of Training 

When it comes to training, some roofing contractors just keep doing what they've been doing for years, not realizing these old methods don’t work well. Here’s why:

• No one on the crew is equipped to provide proper training and mentoring.
• The person providing training is too busy.
• Training is too costly.
• It’s too hard to get through to new employees.
• Owners are reluctant to invest in training because they’re not sure employees will stay.

But offering exceptional training to your new hires and current workers can help you retain existing employees and attract new ones. Employees will stay with your company because they are being trained, rather than leave because they are not. Training is a critical component of improving employee quality and productivity.

Not only will new hires become productive, engaged team members faster, but they also will know you are investing in their futures so they can enjoy a successful career with your company and in the roofing industry. There are many benefits to having a company training program. Among them:     

• Formalizing a curriculum will enable your new employees to become productive faster.
• Implementing standardized best practices results in fewer installation problems and callbacks.
• Increasing employees’ productivity leads to consistency of installation and enables you to complete more jobs using your existing workforce.
• Giving experienced employees an opportunity to learn other roofing disciplines through career enhancement.
• Leading to lower costs, higher revenue and improved profitability for your company. 

Train Your Trainers 

NRCA Qualified Trainers are professional trainers and coaches for roofing companies. When individuals become recognized NRCA Qualified Trainers, they gain access to NRCA’s training resources. NRCA Qualified Trainers possess the dedication and knowledge to:

• Explain how NRCA’s training and certification programs work well together.
• Conduct engaging shop-quality training sessions designed to help roof system installers learn about roof systems and their installation.
• Coach installers to develop their installation skills; guide installers through NRCA’s online and hands-on training activities.·
• Track installers’ training efforts.
• Make training effective and productive on rain days and during winter months.

In addition, NRCA Qualified Trainers focus on the most critical elements of skills training to onboard new employees faster, provide guidance to midlevel employees interested in furthering their careers, and assist seasoned employees who are pursuing NRCA ProCertification, NRCA’s national worker certification initiative. 

NRCA Qualified Trainer Conferences 

If you are interested in enhancing your company’s training program, send one or more key employees with a passion for training the next generation to an upcoming NRCA Qualified Trainer Conference. Participants gain practical, how-to training skills while becoming recognized NRCA Qualified Trainers.

New trainers develop a strong foundation in critical training skills, and seasoned trainers are introduced to best practices for delivering powerful workforce improvement presentations and effective hands-on training. Participants learn about how NRCA ProCertification works, including its goals, policies and procedures, and the Job Task Analysis skills required of installers for receiving one or more certifications through NRCA ProCertification.

In addition, the conference includes assessments of participants’ hands-on coaching abilities, presentation skills and training knowledge. NRCA Qualified Trainers are uniquely suited to coach employees from the beginning of their careers all the way through certification. “The Qualified Trainer Conference was above and beyond what I thought it was going to be,” says Aaron Ouellette, operations manager for Aaron-Stinson Services, Edina, Minn. “I am confident I can train people the proper way instead of just winging it like I have in the past. I’m excited to put what I’ve learned to use!” 

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NRCA Qualified Trainer Conferences currently are offered in a virtual format on the Zoom platform. To view a list of upcoming virtual conferences, click here.