President’s Message – Last Year Was Great; This Year Is Shaping Up to Be Even Better for WCA

I hope 2022 is going well for all as we continue to battle through the challenges of COVID and supply chain issues.

It pleases me to no end to report that the WCA is off to a tremendous start for the year. We have experienced a robust increase of students enrolled in EDUcation member woodworking programs. We have added 325 new candidates since the first of the year and have also issued 101 new credentials.

I’m also very pleased that we are continuing to see greater interest in our credential program and Woodworking Skill standards from wood products companies. Because of the increase in MANufacturing membership, WCA is putting more effort toward increasing our training resources that can assist companies with  training their employees. In addtion, we will be offering a half-day workshop at IWF 2022 focused on creating an in-house training program for production woodworkers. Stay tuned for more details.

You can read more about WCA’s recent achievements in our 2021 Progress Report.

In closing, I want to thank all of our INDustry and EDUcation Sponsors for their continued support throughout these difficult times. Their generous contributions have allowed WCA to continue to grow and focus on our mission of developing and maintaining a trained workforce in the woodworking industry.

Bridging the skills gap is an enormous challenge. We can use all of the help that we can get. Learn more about the benefits of becoming a WCA Gold or Silver Sponsor.

Continue to stay safe.

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com