Paths beyond the rooftop

By Emma Peterson.

Tremco’s Rising Stars’ workforce-development program goes beyond roofing, offering young people pathways into manufacturing and other areas of the building trades.

Outside the industry, there’s a misconception that the only jobs available in the roofing world involve climbing up on a roof. But, as we all know, there are so many more jobs in roofing – from office positions to working in a workshop! Connecting people to these opportunities, both on the roof and off, is what Tremco's Rising Stars program aims to do. To learn more about this program, Karen Edwards interviewed David Hutchinson, executive director and founder of Rising Stars, for an episode of Roofing Road Trips® all about creating the next generation of skilled professionals.

Rising Stars operates through a series of partnerships. David explained, “This program wouldn’t be possible without our employer partners. These are the shops and businesses that work with us to give our Rising Stars a placement after graduation.” And for the first few years of the program, these employer partners were largely roofers. But recently, that has shifted!

Just a year ago, Turner Construction and Manufacturing Works approached the Rising Stars Program to discuss expanding the program to offer graduates opportunities beyond the roof. David shared a bit about this:

Turner approached us about a year and a half ago based off of the work we were doing with Cleveland Heights High School and Maple Heights High School. They loved what we’re doing, but they weren’t looking for roofers. They’re one of the many advanced manufacturers located in Cleveland and they wanted to know if we could build out our program to have pathways for our graduates to go into manufacturing. And we said sure!

This was the first major expansion that Tremco made in expanding this program, but it was they were excited and ready for. David explained, “We hadn’t done it before, but it was great! At the end of the day, the goal of the program is to help young people understand that no matter what path you go down, you can be a contributor to building a more resilient, more sustainable future.” He went on, “And that contribution doesn’t just have to be swinging a hammer on the roof, though that’s great too. There’s other paths and building a career is just about finding where you fit in it all.”

Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording to learn more about Tremco’s Rising Stars and how they are connecting young people to jobs in all parts of the building trade.