Education
Industry Certifications
TCA is the Local Sponsoring Group for all of Tennessee for both NRMCA and ACI. TCA maintains a very active certification calendar that includes over 20 different ACI certifications plus the NRMCA Certified Concrete Sales Professional, Volumetric Mixer Operator Certification (first offered in 2019 and now required by TDOT for volumetric concrete production on state projects), and the NRMCA Pervious Concrete Installer. Other NRMCA certifications are offered as needed by TCA in Tennessee. In 2020 TCA conducted over 100 certification sessions across the state, with more than 600 people sitting for certification exams and review sessions.
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In spite of the challenges of 2020, TCA maintained a full schedule of in-person certification events to meet the needs of Tennessee’s concrete and construction industry. Protocols were developed and implemented to conduct our sessions safely including waivers, social distancing and reduced class sizes.
Not only did TCA maintain our certification schedule we added several ACI programs to our offerings and introduced a comprehensive new review session for the ACI Field Testing Technician certification. TCA’s Director of Technical Services - Mr. John Pearson, PE - created the full day review session that includes an opportunity for students to handle the actual testing equipment that is used for the performance portion of the certification exam. This review course was also added to the Concrete Career Academy (see below) to provide a contactless review option for our examinees.
Concrete Career Academy
The Concrete Career Academy is a joint effort of three state associations - Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Kentucky Concrete Association and Tennessee Concrete Association. The platform was originally launched by TCA as a way to provide online learning and training opportunities to members. The need for this type of platform is certainly not exclusive to Tennessee so the three state associations joined hands to work collaboratively and the CCA was officially launched in 2019.
2020 saw the addition of several important content offerings to the Academy. The initial offering was targeted to new ready mix truck operators.
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Called the Verified Operator Badge, this course uses the NRMCA Mixer Truck Drivers Manual as a text book to provide new hires with a strong foundation for the safe operation of a ready mix delivery vehicle.
Building on this foundational course, the CCA added several other offerings in 2020. Review sessions for two important ACI certifications (Field Testing and Flatwork) were added, along with content targeted to middle managers (MAGNET and TABLE) and a course built on the popular NRMCA Concrete in Practice series that applies to a wide cross-section of the concrete industry.
The credentials earned on the platform will take the form of live digital badges that enable the badge earners to share their credentials on social media platforms or as part of their email signatures. Anyone curious about the badges can click on the credential and see what requirements had to be met in order for the badge to be earned. Digital badges can become the foundation of a personal professional resume for ready-mix operators and other front-line workers in the concrete construction industry. This ability to document knowledge and skills earned through experience and education is key to increasing pride for our current and future workforce, as well as a critical factor in our industry’s ability to retain talent in a very competitive environment.
Connecting Concrete Certifications to Workforce Development
In 2019 TCA partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and other construction related organizations to provide training to inmates preparing to re-enter life after incarceration. TCA’s Executive Director Alan Sparkman taught two sessions (each about 1 week) on concrete finishing, using the ACI Flatwork Finisher material to provide curriculum for the class, including the administration of the written exam at the end of the class. These classes (15 people in each class in 2019) were conducted inside the prison facility. TCA arranged for a tour of the TCA Campus and a tour of an operating concrete batch plant for the 2nd class to help students better connect their classroom learning with real world concrete projects. Nearly all of these 30 individuals were hired by construction companies doing work in Tennessee shortly after their completion of the course.
While the pandemic made it impossible to offer in-person learning to inmates in 2020 TCA hopes to continue this initiative in 2021 and beyond once conditions allow.
TCA's Executive Director Alan Sparkman continues to serve on the NRMCA Workforce Development Committee (WDC). Director Sparkman attended the inaugural meeting for the new WDC in Kansas City in 2018 and headed up one of the initial task groups on Partnering.
Sparkman also serves as the instructor for NRMCA’s Certified Concrete Sales Professional course and currently teaches all four modules for NRMCA. Responding to the realities of 2020, NRMCA moved previously scheduled sessions of the CCSP to a virtual format in order to provide this important class to industry professionals looking to advance their careers.