McCormack Partners bridges a generation gap in roofing

By Adam Cabrera. 

Addressing the issue of an aging workforce, McCormack Partners focuses on connecting young talent to experienced roofing professionals. 

In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips™, host Heidi J. Ellsworth and guest Luke McCormack, CEO of McCormack Partners, had a conversation about People Make Roofing, an initiative that is working to support a new generation of roofing professionals. 

McCormack Partners is a recruitment provider dedicated to providing contractors across the U.S. commercial roofing sector with the skilled labor they need. With their initiative People Make Roofing, they are finding new and effective ways to tackle the pressing issue of labor shortages and rejuvenating an aging workforce. 

However, People Make Roofing is not just about filling positions, it's a campaign to change the way people think about roofing, an industry often viewed negatively as labor-intensive and unsafe. "The perception is that roofing is dirty, unsafe, no career prospects... that the roofing industry only has roofers in it," Luke explained. “The People Make Roofing campaign is our way of trying to be part of the solution of professionalizing the industry and bringing new blood into the industry.” 

Central to the campaign is the idea that roofing offers various roles filled with the potential for career growth and substantial earnings. "People in the roofing industry that completed their apprenticeship, the world is their oyster. They can become a CEO, a project manager. They can get into sales, technical, the associations," said Luke.  

Additionally, the initiative has created a space where the younger generation can share their stories, advance their knowledge of the trade and develop new skills. “We're giving people a platform to speak to the younger generation about roofing,” Luke said. “People are so surprised by the type of people that are in the industry, the success within it. And I think that they find it quite refreshing to know that this career path exists.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or  Watch the episode to learn more about People Make Roofing and how they are motivating a new generation to start careers in roofing.