Last week, the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation's (MCERF) Board of Trustees approved funding of a study to investigate the special educational needs and challenges of smaller mechanical contracting and service firms, those with sales of less than $7.5 million per year. F. James "Jim" McCarl, president of the McCarl Group and a faculty member of MCAA's National Education Initiative (NEI), who will conduct this study, said, "Small contractors constitute a significant part of the mechanical contracting/mechanical service population. Increasingly, they will need to fill the future leadership requirements of our industry. Educating and engaging these small contractors will increase their viability and value in that role, and it will help provide sustainability for our industry's human capital needs." The results of the study are targeted for publication by MCAA 2008 and will be made available to all MCAA/MSCA members.

For more information about MCERF, contact Dennis Langley at dlangley@mcaa.org.