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Building Blocks

Education & Certification

Strengthening the Concrete Industry Through Quality Education and Certification Opportunities 

Overview

Education is vital to growing the market for concrete and training is vital to attract as well as retain a quality workforce. Certifications are a crucial part of keeping our current workforce up to date and they are an important part of attracting and retaining our concrete industry workforce. TCA is very active in both. TCA is the statewide Local Sponsoring Group for both NRMCA and ACI.

ACI Certifications and Review Classes

2023 was a record year for ACI certifications, with TCA surpassing the previous record number of ACI certifications set in 2022 by about 15%. We offered 17 different Certifications in 2023, hosting 149 exam and review sessions, and serving 951 examinees. Sessions were held all across Tennessee, with certification sessions taking place every month of the year. 

NRMCA Training and Certification

  • Certified Concrete Sales Professional (all four modules) - 46 examinees attended TCA’s CCSP classes in 2023, a 21% increase over our 2022 numbers. Tennessee has consistently offered the full CCSP class in our state for over 20 years.

  • Concrete Durability (Level Four) NRMCA class hosted at TCA office

  • Think Like An Owner NRMCA class hosted at TCA office

  • Deliver Your Future filming with TCA/NRMCA members in Nashville and Knoxville

Seminars and Presentations

  • Concrete Sustainability with Roads & Bridges magazine

  • Residential Housing Outlook for Tennessee, with Edsel Charles

  • Environmental Product Declarations Explained with William Paddock

  • CDL Training resources in Tennessee, presented by the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

  • Legal Issues for the Concrete Industry in 2023, with attorney Chris Rubino

Public and Regulatory Agency Work

  • Coal Combustion Resource Group - monthly calls with Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Department of Conservation, and Tennessee Department of Transportation to increase the beneficial use of fly ash at TVA plants across the state. 

  • Tennessee Building Officials Association

    • 3 hour seminar on Residential Concrete and ACI 332

  •  Tennessee Stormwater Association

    • Presentation on pervious concrete for stormwater management

  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    • TCA participated in a coalition seeking research funding for a project titled: Limestone/Activated Clay/Calcium Sulfate Blends for Low Carbon Concrete (LACCS Concrete). In addition to TCA’s participation, TCA also recruited two TCA member companies to participate at the field trial stage of the research, if funded.

Trade Shows and Presentations

  • Middle Tennessee American Society of Landscape Architects

    • Lunch and Learn on Sustainable Concrete 

  • Hawkins Partners Landscape Architecture Lunch and Learn

  • Exhibit and Sponsor for Tennessee Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Conference and Trade Show in Memphis

  • Tennessee Engineer’s Conference 

    • Registration Sponsor and Exhibitor

    • Presentation - Concrete Round About Design with NRMCA’s Amanda Hult

    • Presentation - Top 10 Ways to Reduce Embodied Carbon with NRMCA’s Frank Gordon

  • Institute for Career and Technical Educators 

    • Exhibitor - focused on Skate 4 Concrete program and assistance to local high schools and school districts from the concrete community

  • High School Career Fairs

    • Participated in Metro Nashville event with about 5000 students

    • Participated in Macon County Schools Job Fair event with 1000 students

    • Supported the Bradley County P.I.E Center in grant applications related to potential concrete-focused curriculum for students

University Partnerships

  • Vanderbilt University

    • Fall Class on sustainable concrete mix designs, with opening lecture by Dr. Heather Brown (IMI) on behalf of TCA. Additionally, TCA helped with getting materials donated for the mix design lab portion of the class, Alan Sparkman spoke with student teams working on projects for this class. 

  • Vanderbilt Concrete Canoe Competition

    • Alan Sparkman aided with mix design questions for this year’s team.

  • MTSU

    • TCA was the first, AND ONLY, State Association to make a $50,000 pledge to the new building on the MTSU campus.

  • Tennessee Technological University

    • Conducted ongoing research partnership with results published in the Tennessee Concrete magazine. Funded research titled: Reduction in Compressive Strength Test Results due to Above Specification Initial Concrete Cylinder Curing Temperatures. This research will be conducted in 2023 and 24 by graduate engineering students at TTU.

  • Visits to University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University and University of Tennessee Martin engineering programs.

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