Growing the talent pipeline.

Multiple industry members gathered to support the NALP Foundation’s workforce development efforts at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta.

SkillsUSA empowers middle school, high school and post-secondary students to become skilled professionals with career-ready skills. This workforce development organization represents over 130 occupational areas in all 50 states as well as D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

More than 18,000 students, teachers, education leaders, and representatives from 850 national corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions attended this year’s event at the Georgia World Congress Center.

On June 25-26, over 6,880 competitors participated in the national SkillsUSA Championships across 114 hands-on events, including carpentry, heavy equipment operation, and masonry.

“It’s important for us to be here at SkillsUSA because the individuals that are going through many of these programs are already learning the skills that will translate immediately to our industry,” says Jenn Myers, executive director of the NALP Foundation and senior director of workforce development. “We also know that over half of the students who participate in SkillsUSA programs go right into the workforce after graduation, so that’s definitely a subset of students that we want to be engaging with.”

The NALP Foundation’s booth featured numerous stations where visitors could learn about different aspects of the industry, including irrigation, arboriculture and landscape design. Landscape contractors and supplier members helped bring the booth to life with donated greenery, hardscaping and other materials like irrigation pieces.

“We have to show up at all levels,” says Stephanie Leveling, brand ambassador and client relations for The Integra Group, Inc. “People don’t know what they don’t know, and they have this impression of what landscaping is. It’s a guy in the truck, and it’s just so much more than that. We are the largest service industry in the United States. Close to $314 billion is what we generate and so we need to tell people about that.”

Robert Bowers, P. ENG., vice president of engineering – hardscapes for the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (CMHA) says it made sense to partner with NALP as part of their workforce development efforts.

CMHA worked with Georgia Urban Ag Council members Plants Creative Landscapes on the installation of the booth and Ed Castro Landscape on the hardscape design to incorporate different hardscape patterns such as herringbone, basketweave and soldier course to highlight the creativity and flexibility that can be achieved with the same materials.

“We need to show students that there are opportunities when we talk about landscapes and we say hardscapes, it’s important that we start developing their vocabulary,” Bowers says. “So, when they see an ad for hardscapes and go, ‘I don’t know what that is,’ and keep going, now they can say, ‘Oh yeah. I remember we saw that at the booth.’”

Additionally, students could participate in a scavenger hunt, make friendship bracelets, and play different games in the booth, allowing industry partners time to chat with them about crossover careers.

“I think for NALP to have multiple sources here to represent the industry is fantastic,” says Boyd Fletcher, an account manager with Bloomin’ Easy, based in British Columbia. “This space is very big so it’s very welcoming. It might be a lot tougher to do for one company, and the cost of doing all that as well. I just think it’s really good because you have a lot of different people here. Students and teachers can come here, talk to us and literally talk to 10 different people and get 10 different expertise or experiences from our skill set.”

Myers says they would not be able to pull off this event without the support of different NALP members, including suppliers, manufacturers, and contractors from across the country.

“I think that the organizations that have partnered with us on SkillsUSA are very forward-thinking organizations that are committed to helping increase the pool of people that is entering our industry,” Myers says. “The work that they’re doing is for the benefit of everyone in the industry. Everyone in the industry reaps the rewards of the time, effort and money that the organizations that are here supporting this event.”

One aspect that always stands out to the volunteers at SkillsUSA is the polished, professional nature of the students who visit the booth. Leveling adds volunteering at SkillsUSA is great because you get to learn about the generation coming into the workforce, what they care about and what they are interested in.

“If you need a place to come and get reenergized about our youth, it is here because every year that we come back, we get to engage with some students and be refreshed,” says Brigitte Orrick, director of talent development for The Davey Tree Expert Company, based in Kent, Ohio.

“It’s a completely renewing process talking to young people. They’re excited about working in the trades. They’re excited about what type of opportunity is available to them. They’re very hungry for information about our career paths, especially because they’re getting a lot about welding or construction trades. There are a lot of curious students stopping by the booth. We’re like an oasis on the show floor, because we’ve got plants that are really inviting, and people want to come over and see what we have to offer,” said Brigitte Orrick, The Davey Tree Expert Company

National horticulture competition

In addition to sharing career opportunities in the industry, the NALP Foundation is working to establish a national landscape horticulture competition at SkillsUSA. To do so, at least 15 states need to hold a landscape horticulture competition at the state level.

Currently, eight states are hosting landscape competitions, and eight more have committed to do so. Myers says the end goal of hosting these state and national competitions is to have landscape-related skills taught in middle and high school classrooms across the country.

Myers says because NALP has been conducting the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) for the past 50 years, this is the natural next step to host something at the high school level and do it in conjunction with SkillsUSA.

Josh Chalfant, associate director of training and development for Environmental Management, Inc. (EMI), based in Plain City, Ohio, says he first heard about the NALP Foundation’s involvement with SkillsUSA from an NALP Facebook post three years ago and he reached out to Myers on how he could get involved at the state and national level. Now, Ohio is one of the eight states that currently has a horticulture competition.

EMI is a sponsor of their state horticulture competition and works with other landscape companies in the state to supply the plants, put the test together and judge the competition. Chalfant says he’s also met with other landscape state associations to talk to them about how to put on their own horticulture competition.

Chalfant says that NALP’s presence at SkillsUSA shows students how the entire industry is looking for people versus a single contractor.

J.R. Warner, national account manager for professional landscapers for Stanley Black & Decker, says they chose to volunteer to better the industry as a whole. Additionally, DeWalt, a Stanley Black & Decker brand, donated $100,000 of DeWalt tools to SkillsUSA as part of their Grow the Trades initiative. Warner says they’re looking to get more involved as the event grows.

“As one of the Elite Partners with NALP, it’s not just our mission to grow our brand, but to grow and to better the entire industry as a whole,” Warner says. “By participating in this with NALP, I think it shows that we’re not just in here for ourselves. We are here for the entire industry to help grow and promote it.”

Thank you to our partners

Thank you to all of our industry partners who helped during this year’s SkillsUSA!

• SiteOne Landscape Supply
• Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association
• Yellowstone Landscape
• The Davey Tree Expert Company
• Ed Castro Landscape
• Plants Creative Landscapes
• Bloomin’ Easy
• Georgia Urban Ag Council
• Stanley Black & Decker
• HighGrove Partners, LLC
• Environmental Management, Inc.
• The Integra Group

If you are interested in engaging with SkillsUSA at the national or state level or want more information, please contact Jenn Myers ([email protected]) or Pam Moore ([email protected]).

All photos by Jill Odom, NALP