Eight companies, all CPIA members, joined together to bring the first-ever Paint Scholarship competition to the Construction Ready CareerEXPO, an event that brings together students and employers for hands-on events, demonstrations, and networking.
Held annually at the Georgia World Congress Center, the event aims to introduce nearly 10,000 students to career opportunities in trades ranging from construction to cosmetology. The two-day event is also home to the Georgia SkillsUSA State Championships, where qualified students compete against peers in a wide range of skilled trades for the state title and the opportunity to advance to the national competition.
Since painting is not represented in the competition, painting contractors and suppliers joined together to create their own.
Paint Pros Take the Lead in Representing the Trade
In 2023, eight companies from the commercial painting world took it upon themselves to represent the industry to the next generation. Included were Atlanta-based paint contractors Benise-Dowling & Associates, Harrison Contracting, KC Painting & Coatings, and Graydaze Contracting.
Joining them in creating a unified message about the opportunities and benefits the industry offers were Sherwin-Williams, Pittsburgh Paints, Benjamin Moore, and Graco. This year, the group took their efforts one step further by introducing a painting competition and awarding meaningful scholarships to top painting talent.
Celebrating Skill
Louie Boncyk, VP at Benise-Dowling and Associates, Inc., says that the SkillsUSA competition is a big deal. “If you get invited to the national championship for any trade, you are pretty much guaranteed a job out of high school."
Recognizing that painting wasn’t represented in SkillsUSA, the commercial painting industry leaders held their own competition this year to spotlight emerging talent in the field.
They distributed flyers (see below right) and invitations to area schools, inviting students to apply and compete at the World of Painting booth for one of three scholarships in the amounts of $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000.
To truly test the skills of competitors, vignettes were built to mimic real-world painting scenarios, and supervisors from the painting companies acted as judges, using a detailed checklist to evaluate techniques such as cutting in, mixing, cleanup, and more. After 29 contestants completed two days of competition, the scores were tallied, and three winners were presented with scholarships at a ceremony in front of their peers.
Promoting Opportunity
The effort allowed students to learn more about the commercial painting industry and the excellent career paths available, and schools that offer trade programs got a closer look at the underrepresented painting industry. Boncyk noted that while the students always want to know how much money they can make, “The teachers have more detailed questions about what a painting program at their school might look like and what they can do to help.”
Boncyk always acknowledged the importance of the participation of the paint companies. “It’s great to have these four painting companies from the Atlanta area come together to represent and promote the commercial paint industry and focus on how we make it more appealing to the next generation.” The group is already looking forward to the 2027 event, where they will continue to educate and motivate the next generation of talent and host the second annual paint competition.
