Registration for ABC’s 2015 Workforce Conference is now open and ABC is excited to announce that John Ratzenberger, known best for his role as Cliff in the show “Cheers,” will be joining us as the keynote speaker. In addition, the 2015 conference offers five education tracks for construction and association professionals, networking opportunities, the National Craft Championships and the Excellence in Construction Awards. The conference will be held March 3-6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Ratzenberger, while best known for his accomplished list of on-screen gigs, also worked as a journeyman carpenter and created the Travel Channel series “Made in America,” which highlighted U.S.-made goods and workers. In his keynote speech March 4, Ratzenberger will address how important it is for this country to recognize the need for and to provide the training to produce skilled laborers.

The conference education sessions will be broken up into five tracks

• Electrical Contractors;
• Mechanical Contractors;
• Safety;
• Workforce Development; and
• Chapter Staff. 

While the sessions provided will be geared toward each group, attendees can attend whichever sessions best fit their education needs across all tracks.

In addition, attendees are encouraged to attend the National Craft Championships, which will be taking place in the same location on March 5 with craft apprentices from across the country compete in one of 15 competitions. During the Careers in Construction Awards program March 6, the winners of this competition will be announced along with the winners of Craft Professional of the Year and Craft Instructor of the Year.

New this year, the Excellence in Constructions Awards program will take place the same week. Registration for this event will open shortly. 

Register for the 2015 Workforce Conference here.