Labor demographics highlight need for apprenticeship programs
Existing in some form or another for thousands of years, apprenticeships are about as old as the concept of work itself; they are the method by which novices have mastered the literal building blocks of society.
And even still, when college degrees are touted as one of the 21st century's steadiest paths to gainful employment, apprenticeships – learning on the job – remain relevant.
With the combination of a consistent pipeline of infrastructure and building projects and an aging workforce, skilled trades continue to demand and actively court apprentices.
According to a 2013 report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, there will be a shortfall of 5 million workers with post-secondary education and training by the year 2020.
“In the next five to 10 years, there's going to be a mass exodus – we're going to be losing people with 20, 30 years of experience,” said David Minasian, organizer with the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. The average age of a carpenter, he noted, is 45. “We need to train the next generation now so that when that exodus happens, we have a skilled workforce that is competitive and can meet the demands of an ever-changing industry,” Minasian said.
That begins, simply, with awareness.
Minasian and others stressed the various benefits of skilled trades, which encompass a wide swath including carpentry, bricklaying, plumbing, electrical, IT and – more recently as it regains a foothold in the United States – manufacturing.
Speaking of his industry in particular, training director Mark Kuenzel of Local 7 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Springfield emphasized a “good retirement, better pay, better education, local representation, a safer workplace.”
Electricians in training start at about $15 an hour, moving up to $26-plus while apprenticing, Kuenzel said, before ascending to a journeyman's wage of $38 per hour.
Minasian agreed about the potential of carpentry apprenticeship programs, saying, “In four years, you can have a middle-class career.”
Programs originated in 1930s
According to the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy research and advocacy organization, a formal, registered system of apprenticeships was created by the National Apprenticeship Act in 1937. Apprenticeships last between one and six years, depending on the industry, and include 2,000 hours of on-the-job-learning and at least 144 hours of classroom-based instruction. A certificate of completion – serving as a portable, nationally recognized credential – is issued after all thresholds have been crossed.
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters has about 60 apprentices in Worcester County, according to Minasian. Over a four-year-long process, they work on-site, and also receive training at the New England Carpenters Training Center in Millbury.
Prospective electricians, meanwhile, spend five years working 40-hour weeks and participating in 1,000 hours of education, according to Kuenzel.
Recruitment, he said, includes holding regular informational sessions, and constantly networking with vocational schools, colleges, community groups and employers.
Preparing for the future is also about consistent investment, Minasian noted. For example, he said, the Millbury training center has 14 new welding shops under construction, and apprentices are constantly apprised of the newest energy efficiency and green building tactics.
Proactivity is also key
“We're definitely bumping up to replace the numbers that are leaving,” Kuenzel said, stressing, “We always tell our young apprentices: 'Learn all you can from the old-timers.' "
Over the past few years, an IBEW apprenticeship training committee has been systematically taking in larger apprenticeship classes – between 18 and 25, Kuenzel said, compared with 12 to 18 in the past. Every year, the committee holds five informational sessions that attract 400 to 500 prospects. And ultimately, he noted an overall increased interest in trades.
"The quality of candidates we're getting is very good," he said.
Better training, better trainees
Stressing a higher caliber of students due to both stellar vocational school programs and early- or mid-career changers, Minasian agreed that “we are getting a record amount of applicants.”
But going forward, much more can be done, said Susan Mailman, board member of the Massachusetts Apprenticeship Advisory Council, and fourth-generation owner and president of Coghlin Electrical Contractors and Coghlin Network Services, both in Worcester.
Community colleges and manufacturers can concurrently build curriculum, and industries can begin reaching out to students at a younger age through such efforts as pre-apprenticeship programs, she said. Also, the city, contractors and skilled workers can forge partnerships that can help all parties – for example, establishing requirements that certain projects have a minimum apprenticeship ratio.
“We talk a lot about economic development, pushing the city forward,” said Mailman. “We can do it in conjunction with workforce development.” n
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