GAF Roofing Academy helped prepare a Tampa, Florida technical student to win big at the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) SkillsUSA state and national commercial roofing contractor competition and step into a roofing career.
The Value of Initiative
Matthew Addington never imagined he'd win a roofing contractor competition. He never even imagined he'd be a roofer. But when Jay McCord and the GAF Roofing Academy taught a three-day commercial and residential roofing training course for a carpentry program at Erwin Technical College, Matthew embraced the opportunity.
"The roofing industry is growing. It's growing fast, and the GAF Roofing Academy is a great opportunity to grow and learn a trade," says Matthew.
That's certainly true, and in an industry that needs an estimated 439,000 net new construction workers in 2025 to meet anticipated demand—per the Associated Builders and Contractors—fresh faces like Matthew's are warmly received.
While the industry is hungry for skilled labor, Matthew's hard work and initiative help him stand out from the crowd. That drive is what caught Jay's eye during the Roofing Academy training, what drove Matthew to place first at the state level and second at the national level in the 2024 SkillsUSA roofing contractor competition, and what landed him a job with Baker Roofing Company immediately upon graduating from Erwin.
Overcoming Career Uncertainty
Like many folks, Matthew was unclear about a career path. Growing up, he'd moved a lot with his military family. When he graduated from high school and started at the University of South Florida, he realized that, while he appreciated his education, he wasn't encountering a career he felt he could be passionate about.
"I asked myself what would be right for me," he says. After some research, he realized carpentry was a core trade. He thought it seemed cool and that it would allow him to work with his hands, so he enrolled in Erwin Technical School. "I had no prior construction experience, and none of my family did, either."
Winning Silver and Gold at 2024 SkillsUSA
When the GAF Roofing Academy came to Erwin, Matthew had already decided to throw his hat in the ring at the roofing contractor competition at SkillsUSA. Jay and the trainers worked strategically with him to strengthen his installation skills in preparation.
While Matthew may have gotten intensive one-on-one roofing training, "there was a lot of work between him taking the Roofing Academy class and going to the 2024 SkillsUSA competition," explains Jay. "He went from zero to second place nationally in commercial roofing. He put in a lot of time and a lot of work."
Thanks to that hard work, Matthew won first place at the state level in the commercial roofing contractor competition in Jacksonville, Florida in April 2024 and second place at the national level in the roofing contractor competition in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2024.
"That's the ultimate [Roofing Academy success story]," says Jay of Matthew's successes, including his roofing contractor competition wins and new job at Baker Roofing Company.
Carving Out a Career Path in Roofing
The construction industry needs people like Matthew to fill the space left behind by the aging roofer demographic. The GAF Roofing Academy is working hard to help build the industry from the bottom up with well-trained folks looking for a long-term, rewarding career through free training courses.
As of September 2024, more than 2,000 GAF Roofing Academy graduates had been placed in jobs as a direct result of completing the free roofing training. GAF aims to increase that number in 2025 to ensure the program helps graduates find long-term employment. So far, 100 Roofing Academy graduates have been placed in 2025, already.
The Roofing Academy course Matthew completed at Erwin covers residential and commercial roofing practices. Jay adds that working in roofing doesn't just mean working on the roof. "There's install—in residential, commercial, and solar—and that's working outside on the roof. But there's also sales and the service realm." Plus, there are all the logistics of manufacturing plants, distribution, marketing, managers, you name it.
All this to say, don't count yourself out of a roofing career just because you don't like heights. The industry needs every type of worker imaginable to run smoothly, and getting your foot in the door can start with GAF Roofing Academy.
Is Roofing Right for You, Too?
If you're even considering roofing, "learning from the Roofing Academy will only put more knowledge under your belt," says Matthew. "It will only give you more tools. Anyone can learn the techniques—you just need to have the right mindset, and you're going to go far."
Fortunately, you don't have to be enrolled in technical school to take the free GAF Roofing Academy trainings. It's as simple as signing up through the GAF Roofing Academy webpage, says Jay. Creating resilient communities by empowering people with roofing skills is a core mission of GAF CARE. To that end, recruiters partner far and wide to reach underrepresented populations, like those leaving active military service, formerly incarcerated individuals, women, Latinos, older folks starting new careers, and young people just starting out.
Empowering Future Roofers
"We work with a correctional facility where guys are 60 to 90 days from being released. We train them, teach them all about roofing, and then have roofing contractors who are willing to hire them once they get out. They are some of the most willing and excited to learn," says Jay, "so it's really fun. It's one of my favorite classes to teach."
A big part of these success stories is the Roofing Academy teachers who believe in roofing. During his training, Matthew saw Jay walk the walk. "He was getting down and dirty working with us, and he was so patient. He answered every question we had about benefits, pay rate, traveling, work materials, working in the heat, etc. Best of all, after class, he kept in touch. I think that's great. Not a lot of the people who came to our program kept in touch. He was very thoughtful."
In the perfect twist, Jay—a GAF CARE trainer who's unabashedly passionate about roofing—was just like Matthew. He worked in hospitality in college, then in first-aid and safety equipment sales. He didn't know what career path to follow. As luck would have it, a GAF recruiter reached out to him on LinkedIn, and he started in sales for GAF. Now, he's a trainer for an industry he loves. He would've never guessed this would be his path, but like so many before and after him, "once you start roofing, you never go back."
Reach out and connect with the GAF Roofing Academy today. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next winner of the NRCA SkillsUSA roofing contractor competition.
