Ongoing CertainTeed-ABC Supply Collaboration Helps Mold Tomorrow’s Tradespeople
Students at Massachusetts Technical High School learn siding installation skills, earn certifications before entering workforce
(Valley Forge, Pa.) – An ongoing partnership between CertainTeed Corporation and leading building products distributor ABC Supply Co, Inc., is helping prepare carpentry students at a Massachusetts technical high school for the workforce with important industry training.
For six years, representatives from CertainTeed and ABC Supply’s Fall River, Mass., location have made visits to Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School in Bourne, Mass., to give hands-on instruction in the proper installation of vinyl and polymer siding and PVC trim. Students who successfully complete these sessions can earn CertainTeed Master Craftsman® installer certification, which gives them a leg up as they enter the workforce after graduation.
“One of our goals is to help our students get real world construction experience and earn as many professional certifications as they can, because those things make them more employable after they graduate,” says Robert Dutch, superintendent of Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School District. “Having access to this level of expertise from CertainTeed and ABC Supply, has really benefitted the students of our carpentry program. They’re great with the kids, too—they’re able to break things down and communicate it in a way that the students understand.”
The high school’s carpentry program has always pursued large, real-life projects, such as constructing or remodeling campus buildings, to give students more hands-on experience with trade skills. Their most recently completed building was the school’s 10,000 square-foot Nursing and Allied Health Education Center, which features Cedar Impressions® Triple 5-inch Straight Edge Polymer Perfection Shingles in Sterling Gray, Cedar Impressions 6-1/4-inch Half Round Shingles in Granite Gray, Restoration Millwork® PVC Trim and Landmark™ roofing shingles. The school has used this blend of exterior products and colors on all of its projects so campus buildings will match.
“Because all of these buildings are large, they give our students ample opportunity to install the CertainTeed exterior products,” Dutch says. “I look at the installations they’ve done on campus, and you’d never know they were done by high school students. So, the training they’re receiving from CertainTeed and ABC Supply is certainly making a positive impact.”
Working with the students and partnering with ABC Supply has been an equally rewarding experience for CertainTeed.
“ABC Supply has been a good friend to the carpentry program at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School for some time, and we commend the support they’ve given with valuable installation training and always punctual deliveries,” says Deane Smith, vice president of sales for CertainTeed Siding Products Group. “It’s been a pleasure working alongside them to support the school’s efforts to provide top-quality vocational education to the construction professionals of tomorrow.”
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For five consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2013 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2013. www.certainteed.com
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