Safety 2.0 welcomes a new generation of leaders into the building safety profession
What’s the best way to draw a younger generation of code officials and inspectors to fill the void of Baby Boomers who have retired or will soon?
First of all, don’t use the word “code.”
“I asked a younger person what they thought of when I said the word ‘code,'” said International Code Council Career Development Coordinator Jim Ellwood. “And they always say, ‘my computer,’ as in putting together codes for their computer programs.”
“We learned we needed to say, ‘building safety.'”
And the Code Council also needed a term that showed those who had devoted their lives to “building safety” were ready to embrace and mentor a new generation.
Thus was born the “Safety 2.0,” initiative, comprising new and existing Code Council programs aimed at finding a niche for young, talented building officials. “2.0,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is Millennial-speak for “a superior or more advanced version of an original concept, product and service.”
The initiative, if not the name, was the brainchild of Alex “Cash” Olszowy, a past president of the ICC Board of Directors, and building inspection manager, residential section, for Lexington, Ky.
As he did in his inaugural speech as incoming president in 2015, Olszowy explained what drove him to come up with Safety 2.0.
“When I first came on the ICC board, Past President Jimmy Brothers encouraged us to ‘throw deep,’ meaning make no small plans. Then before me, Past President Guy Tomberlin challenged us to prepare for the ‘next generation.'”
“So when I came on as President, I wanted to put those words into action. Let’s find a way to ‘throw deep to our next generation.'”
Olszowy knew ICC already had some great programs, such as the High School Technical Training Program (HSTTP), founded in 2011 by Sara Yerkes, senior vice president of ICC Government Relations, and driven with great success since by Ellwood.
Ellwood said HSTTP, a nationwide educational program that helps prepare high school students and junior college students for careers in code enforcement and the construction trades, fits in perfectly under the Safety 2.0 umbrella.