BAC/IMI Launch International Apprentice Contest

Journal: January - February 2003

BAC apprentices can now earn Union-wide and public recognition for the commitment and training they invest in their careers with the launch of the 2003 BAC/IMI International Apprentice Contest.

Although many BAC Locals already hold apprentice contests, BAC and IMI want to ensure more systematic and widespread acknowledgment of top BAC apprentices by creating a new tradition on an international scale: the BAC/IMI International Apprentice Contest.

“By the time BAC apprentices finish their training, they have already made a significant investment in their careers,” notes BAC President and IMI Co-Chair John J. Flynn. “This will bring them some much-deserved recognition.”

“It will also demonstrate to the industry and the public how the BAC/IMI investment in training is securing a healthy future for masonry.”

The Contest involves several levels of competition. Each region will send winners of local or regional contests to the semifinal contests at the IMI National Training Center in Maryland. The Contest finals will be held this fall in Washington, D.C.

All contests require a hands-on competition, plus a written test. Judges include prominent construction and architecture experts. Apprentices as of December 31, 2002 who are still in their apprenticeship on the day of the final are eligible. Crafts include brick, plaster, cement, tile, stone and marble.

The Apprentice Contest finals, to be held in Washington, D.C., will be part of an exciting showcase of union masonry taking place at the National Building Museum. A long-running exhibit, to be launched on the eve of the contest, will highlight masonry’s contribution to architecture and explore masonry’s future direction in architectural design, while emphasizing the contribution of BAC craftworkers.

The exhibit is being designed by four internationally recognized architects: Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang/O’Donnell Architect; Carlos Jimenez of Carlos Jimenez Studio; Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architecture; and Winka Dubbeldam of Archi-tectonics. They will be teamed with IMI instructors Matthew Redabaugh, Keith Behrens, Mike Menegazzi, and Bob Mion.

Live demonstrations in restoration and terrazzo will be featured alongside the contest and exhibit.