Selling is important. Without sales, companies die. Training is equally important: workers without real training fail to understand why and then failures occur. Our industry too often misses the mark or conflates a blend of training and sales. Some programs seem to be conflated with hidden agendas. We know trained workers are better for the industry but the opportunity to inject an agenda is just too much for some groups to resist. The registered apprenticeship programs for construction are the best method but they are also at an all-time low in reaching the workforce. That void desperately needs to be filled.
I have taught classes on lath and plaster application. I tried to include not just the code basics but tips and caveats geared towards the audience. I gave a class and a CEO of a major sponsor was in the audience. He came up to me and said he learned a lot about lath and plaster that day. I was pleased, until he continued, saying that he had an issue with my presentation. He noted that I did not make it clear that using a proprietary product/system was the real solution. So then I noted that his products were very good but that failures were generally due to installer error, not brand selection. Needless to say, he was not happy with my answer.