Painting Contractors Association and Building Talent Foundation Collaborate to Strengthen Workforce

Organizations Partner to Help Job Seekers Develop Professional Skills and Secure Rewarding Career Opportunities with Painting Contractors in Need of Skilled Talent

(St. Louis, MO, and Washington, DC) December 21, 2021 Painting Contractors Association (PCA), a trade association committed to elevating the expertise, reputation, and trust of painting contractors, and non-profit organization Building Talent Foundation (BTF) are pleased to announce a strategic partnership focused on facilitating professional development and career placements with contractors in dire need to hire skilled painters.

Like many employers in the residential construction industry, painting contractors struggle to fill job openings with well-qualified talent. To help people acquire and sharpen their skills, PCA has developed an online library of training videos, which will also be promoted on BTF’s careers website, JobsToBuild, adding to the vast selection of training resources available through the platform.

“BTF’s goal is to inform young and underrepresented people about career opportunities available in the home building industry. But, they also need partners who can help people acquire skills to qualify for these jobs,” said Julie Ethan, Education Program Manager for PCA. “At PCA, we realized that there was an immediate opportunity for us to work with BTF, particularly by placing graduates of PCA’s Painter Training program with companies desperate for new, trained talent. It’s a natural partnership.”

To help new, skilled workers navigate the job market, BTF’s Engagement Managers will connect qualified job candidates registered on the JobsToBuild platform to employment and on-the-job training opportunities with PCA member companies. In turn, PCA will promote JobsToBuild as a source of well-trained job candidates, helping its members find skilled workers within BTF’s network.

“BTF is proud to partner with a storied association like PCA that encourages aspiring professional painters to seek high-quality skills training tailored to the current needs in the job market,” said Branka Minic, CEO of BTF. “BTF and PCA believe that the painting trade offers rewarding career paths with growth opportunities. The partnership not only benefits PCA members looking to fill jobs but also positions BTF as a reliable provider of talent for companies actively seeking skilled workers.”

To promote painting careers in the residential construction sector, PCA and BTF will team up with other organizations to create projects where young and underrepresented people will have access to PCA’s training video library and BTF’s career counseling and job placement services. Once an agency’s clients have completed their skills training, BTF will help job candidates launch their careers by connecting them to on-the-job training and employment opportunities with PCA member companies.

“BTF and PCA both seek to support people as they train for careers and place them with companies that need skilled employees,” said Ethan. “Working together, the goal is to improve individual lives and meet the talent needs of employers, all while strengthening our communities and the economy.”

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ABOUT THE PAINTING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION 

From the very beginning, PCA has been dedicated to solving the problems faced by painting contractors. As early as 1884, Master House Painters found community together in an effort to remedy a defective apprentice system, to solve problems created by misuse of appropriate materials, and to assure the public of the "skill, honorable reputation, and probity" of master painters. 

Today that legacy lives on as PCA is the only official trade association dedicated to the success of more than 300,000 painting contractors in the US and Canada. Through apprenticeship and business education, community, and the seal of the industry standards we are committed to the principles set forth by our predecessors to raise the skill, reputation, and ethics of our industry.

By becoming a PCA Contractor, you join a community of like-minded peers dedicated to building each other up and holding one another accountable so that we can all achieve more together.

 

ABOUT BUILDING TALENT FOUNDATION

Building Talent Foundation (BTF) is a non-profit organization founded by the Leading Builders of America, 20 of the largest residential construction companies in the United States. BTF's mission is to advance the education, training, and career progression of young people and people from underrepresented groups, helping them develop into skilled technical workers and business owners in residential construction.