Business View Magazine | December 2020

84 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 Underwriters Laboratory (UL) and South West Research Institute (SWRI). It also has a robust Membership and Communication Department that works on promoting the benefits of the association and members’ products, and STI/SPFI also acts in an advocacy capacity for the steel industry as a whole. Outlining his goals for the new role, O’Toole shares, “I am focused on providing top quality education for our members, their customers, the industry, and any associates for the industry, as well. It’s typically been done in person through our association, but there’s no time better than now to take the model that’s been successful for us for several decades and move it into a new realm online, so more people are able to participate and get involved. So education is definitely a priority. “I am also a big proponent of safety and we have a robust safety library on our website that features almost 200 safety talks. I want to see us continue to have a safety-first mindset because our workers are our most valuable resource and it’s very important that they go home safe at the end of every day. At the end of June, we created a safety purchasing program, in partnership with Beeline, for our members, so they can take advantage of the fact that we’re such a large group to buy safety products at special discounted rates. We’re excited about that and finding additional opportunities, through virtual roundtables or webinars, to educate our members on the latest trends and concerns in the safety industry.” Addressing the shortage of skilled tradespeople in the industry is a main priority for the Association moving forward. O’Toole states, “Being a welder or working in this industry is a great career choice. You can get paid for your training, you can enter the industry, and while your friends may be leaving college with thousands of dollars of debt, you’re leaving with a job that pays well and gives you a head start on a great career. Especially when it comes