Masonry Magazine November 2006 Page. 46
Education
Knowledge is Power
With the launch of MV-Tech, MIM brings continuing education to the forefront.
Caitlin Johnson and Kelly Ronan Mozena
The need for continuing education is more than a local or even regional issue - it's of national importance. Now, an online, national program recently launched by the Masonry Institute of Michigan (MIM) promises to revolutionize continuing education for the masonry industry.
Partnering with the International Code Council (ICC) and Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA), MIM has gone online with MV-Tech, a series of training courses. Tony Darkangelo, MIM's marketing director and MV-Tech Online program coordinator, expects a high demand for the program outside of Michigan. "Continuing education is necessary, no matter what trade you are in," he explained. "It's going to increase professionalism in the industry, producing problem-free walls."
The first five courses are now available at www.mvtechonline.com, including Bracing Above-grade Masonry, Cleaning New Masonry, Cold-weather Masonry Construction, Flashing Masonry and Grouting Hollow-unit Masonry. With the success of this cost-effective program, additional courses will be added.
Industry Embraces Concept
MCAA plans to offer credits for completion of these courses through its national certification program. Each completed MV-Tech course will earn the user one point toward credits necessary to complete the certification exam.
MCAA Executive Director, Michael Adelizzi, stressed the need for more education in the industry: "It's critical to train the employee, the contractor and the consumer so they know what a quality product looks like." Adelizzi added that this is why MCAA is now "seriously moving in the direction of certification."
Eventually, masonry certification will be written into specifications qualifying a mason contractor for any complex project. This is the first step toward making that happen. Adelizzi hopes this will help tradespeople do the job right the first time, which will, in turn, prompt consumers to insist on masonry.
According to Hamid Naderi, PE, CBO, managing director, product development for ICC, "We are hoping that many from various segments of the construction industry, including labor, will benefit greatly from the high quality, state-of-the-art and easily accessible technical programs and presentations made available by MV-Tech."
Ed Davenport, owner of Davenport Masonry Inc. in Holt, Mich., agreed. "It's the future of our industry. Every progressive industry has some kind of interactive