The Massachusetts construction industry will continue to face challenges in 2011 and while it may seem like a good short term solution to cut back on recruiting and training efforts in a downturned economy, this can create a larger shortage of skilled professionals as the economy recovers.
In fact, a recent FMI study predicted that the construction industry will be short 1.5 million workers by 2014 and the Construction Labor Research Council estimated that the industry will need to recruit and train 185,000 workers each year for the next decade to meet this need.
As Mary Vogel, Executive Director of The Construction Institute (TCI), explained, “up until the economic crash, it was hard to pick up a newspaper or industry trade journal without reading a headline about the skilled labor shortage in construction. The decline in young people entering the industry, combined with the aging workforce, is placing the industry in serious need for attracting new talent.”
Recruitment and training efforts will continue to be a priority for union construction through a number of traditional and non-traditional programs. Targeting 18-year old males is no longer the only pool of potential workers; recruiting women, minorities, and veterans aids local communities at the same time benefiting the industry with highl motivated and skilled workers.
For example, TCI has been instrumental in establishing pre-apprenticeship training programs in Springfield and Boston and a Summer Young Adult Program in the Metro South/West region to provide a pipeline for youth, people of color and women to enter a career in the building trades. These programs are designed to provide
a foundation of knowledge and hands-on experience that will ensure a successful transition into a building trades apprenticeship program. Participants receive training in basic occupational skills, employability and interpersonal skills, workplace safety, and construction-related math.
Several graduates from these programs are now well on their way to a career in the building trades after being accepted into union apprentice programs.
As one African-American participant in the Summer Young Adult Program said about
his experience:
…“I never would have known about the career opportunities in the building trades if
it were not for this program.”
The Building Trades have also partnered with ABCD in Boston to offer a pre-appenticeship program targeted at women. The program is funded through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program, which is designed to increase the number of women entering and remaining in apprenticeships associated with nontraditional occupations.
But tapping candidates early in their career choices is still an important way to fill the future need for quality workers in the industry. A Massachusetts Construction Career Day is held every year to provide hands-on experience to students from Vocational Schools throughout Massachusetts. Hosted by the New England Laborers Training Center in Hopkinton, with additional vendors representing several other union trades,
this event attracts hundreds of students each year.
In August this year, the state announced a new Articulation Agreement between the Massachusetts Division of Apprenticeship Training, the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, and union apprenticeship programs, to promote a seamless transition between registered apprenticeship programs and eligible graduates of state-approved Vocational High Schools. This agreement will permit any graduating
student who meets the admission requirements to readily advance into a first year apprenticeship. The Carpenters, Laborers, and Sheet Metal Workers have so far signed the Agreement.
The Laborer’s Union also sponsors a Construction Craft Laborer’s Program at the Medford Vocational Technical High school which provides students who graduate from the program an opportunity to enter the Laborers’ apprentice program. This commences a lifelong career pathway into the construction technology industry.
Another attractive benefit to potential candidates offered by most union training programs is the ability to earn college credits for completion of an apprenticeship. For example, tthe Arioch Center at Wentworth offers an associate degree in Applied Science Technology to IBEW Local 103 graduates from their Inside Wireman
apprenticeship program. The New England Regional Council of Carpenters also has a program with Wentworth that gives members credit for completing a four-year apprenticeship.
In addition, recruiting veterans to the building trades continues through the Helmets to Hardhats program which places quality men and women from the Armed Forces into promising building and construction careers. The program is a way to help men and women who have served our country but at the same time provides union employers with highly skilled, disciplined workers with strong work ethics.
And while recruiting for 2011 is an important focus, the union construction industry is dedicated to having the best trained and most highly qualified craftspeople in the industry. Training is a full-time commitment by our unions and contractors, funded to the tune of over $28 million annually. For more information on these programs and others, go to our website www.builtbest.org
Christina Chataian is the Communications Coordinator for The Construction Institute in Boston, MA.