Report of the MCAA Education Committee Words: Andy SneedLive Webinar Series MCAA’s Live Webinar Series was a bigger and better than ever in 2013, building on the success from the 2012 series.  Hundreds of attendees attended more than fifty courses last year, the most ever offered by the MCAA.  Topics ranged from increasing production and best practices to quality assurance and marketing for masons. The 2014 season will kick off on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 with Building Information Modeling. Additional topics will include Understanding Masonry Codes and Standards, Masonry Wall Bracing, and much more. Each webinar is geared to help mason contractors complete certification requirements. At the conclusion of the 2014 Live Webinar Season, mason contractors and their supervisors will have been able to earn more than seventy credits to complete the Codes and Standards, Ethics and Business Practices, Bidding Practices and Masonry Products disciplines. The Live Webinar Season Pass will continue in 2014. The 2014 Live Webinar Season Pass gives you and your entire company year-round access to all live and on demand, recorded webinars for the calendar year. The Live Webinar Season Pass can be purchased for only $300.00 ($600.00 for non-members). Individual webinars will still be available for purchase starting at $25.00 for members ($50.00 for non-members). Visit www.masoncontractors.org/live to purchase the 2014 Live Webinar Season Pass and view a list of upcoming webinars for 2014. New Programs The Education Committee has been tasked with the goal of creating new education programs for mason contractors. The Committee will continue to focus on courses for employers taught by attorneys, CPAs and insurance executives; classes to sharpen and increase skills of project managers and estimators; and new courses taught by fellow mason contractors. The Committee plans to continue round table discussion groups with general contractors, construction managers, design-build contractors, architects, and engineers. The round tables will be presented during the 2014 MCAA Convention. A group of mason contractors from across the nation is has formed a webinar to teach masonry submittal procedures that will debut in 2014. Review of MQI The Education Committee audited the Masonry Quality Institute (MQI) during the 2013 MCAA Convention. A group has been formed to rewrite and replace the MQI in the future. The course will feature eight, two hour segments taught by mason contractors. The segments will be able to take at once during future MCAA Conventions and individually online as webinars. Two of the eight segments have been completed. The Year Ahead The Education Committee will continue to provide top quality education programs to mason contractors and work to develop new courses for the masonry industry.