In a previous profile, Greg Bloom, vice president of national accounts at Beacon, mentioned he and his wife, RSP and Roofing Contractor Publisher Jill Bloom, try not to talk business all the time. But the times they do talk about it can result in insights that distributors can appreciate.

In that spirit, the Blooms sat down for a special video to discuss the roofing industry and how recruitment plays a vital role in bringing in the next generation into distribution. Greg draws from his own background, having started in the industry in 1982 at Allied Building Products.

“There are so many exciting things for a young person to get into our industry and at least start and strap onto, right? Whether that's labor and operations, whether that's being involved in digital and technology, whether that's just being involved in sales. How about finance? How about communications? I mean, there's so many things that our industry offers as far as job opportunities,” Greg said.

Having recently finished his tenure as president of the Roofing Alliance – the philanthropic arm of the National Roofing Contractors Association – he touches on how the industry can continue to support efforts to recruit students. For instance, the Roofing Alliance worked with Clemson University in South Carolina to create courses dedicated to teaching roofing.

“We're going to raise money on top of what we're initially funding as well,” he said. “Boy, [having it in all universities] would be the ultimate goal. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do,” Greg said. “This is going to take more than a year to get up and running … we have 13-plus schools now offering roofing as part of some of their curriculum.”

Watch the full conversation here, or download the episode from our podcast page to listen on the go.