Technology and off-the-roof labor

By Emma Peterson. 

Joe Stassi shares thoughts on his journey into roofing as a young person and how technology is changing journeys like that today. 

In a new episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth talks to Joe Stassi, the executive vice president at Carlisle SynTec Systems. Joe graduated from college in 1984 and never had plans to work in the roofing industry. He put it simply, “I didn't have any idea what I wanted to do, but I didn't want to get a job. I just wanted to put enough money away to go to Europe.” And 18 years after that, Joe made it to Europe. But, in those years it took to get to Europe, he also established a career in the roofing industry.  

Joe shared, “I had a roommate who got a job at Johns Manville. And he said, ‘I have another opening. You should just go interview for it. You don't need to know anything about roofing. I'll teach you everything you need to know about roofing.’ So I went and interviewed for it and got it.” That job, which was in sales, was Joe’s first venture into the roofing industry. Now, 42 years and a trip to Europe later, Joe is looking from the other side of the interview table as he and the Carlisle team work to get more young people into roofing.  

The big difference he’s seeing between his experience and the journeys of young people today? Technology. Joe explained, “We're right on the precipice of what is going to be a pretty dramatic change in our industry, because of several things. One is technology.  AI and what it's doing along with how fast information is now being developed, whether it's product-related, process-related, it's all going to be changing how we work in roofing.”  

This advent of technology has created more jobs in roofing that aren’t even on the roof. Joe shared, “Everyone is looking at the labor off the roof right now... When we look at any company today, they’re trying to figure out what information they have and what they can do with it to make things more efficient.” By looking for young talent that can help your company answer those questions, roofers can get an edge on their competition and relieve some of the pressure for the on-the-roof crew by ensuring jobs run smoother.  

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the recording to learn more about the importance of technology when it comes to recruiting roofing talent.