The International Masonry Institute (IMI) recently launched the New Contractor Start Up Program to help develop motivated union craftworkers into the professional contractors that today’s marketplace demands. Classes in estimating, project management, quality assurance and marketing give them the right tools to get started.

“Competition among professional contractors serves the union masonry industry well by raising the bar,” said IMI Co-Chair James Boland, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.  As a labor-management alliance of BAC and its contractors, IMI promotes quality masonry construction through craft training and technical assistance to the design and building communities.

IMI continues to support contractors through Contractor College courses that offer the latest technical information and business management strategies, ranging from new products and technologies to quality assurance.

IMI also helps contractors compete in the green marketplace through the Sustainable Masonry Certification Program, which educates them on sustainability practices and their role in the LEED certification process.

For more about IMI programs, go to   www.imiweb.org .