Apprenticeships are the industry’s future

Back in 1999, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development economists and demographers began studying the systemic changes that will affect the employment makeup of the construction industry.

They pointed first to the aging population of the work force and then added the illuminating proviso that future replacements would be mostly nonwhites and women — segments of our society not characteristically associated with construction. More recently, they projected that increased construction activity will require a 10 percent expansion of our work force by 2012.

The Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee saw in this trend a vital challenge to keep the construction industry supplied with the necessary labor portals, and it began to take steps to minimize the impact on the construction industry.

The issue now is whether all the member companies of the construction industry will take the appropriate steps to assure the vitality of our industry by making apprenticeship hiring a priority within their companies.

At a recent AGC of America conference in Washington, D.C., Vince Gilbin, general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers, said the average age of an operating engineer in the United States is 51. It was an appreciation of this circumstance that motivated the AGC of Greater Milwaukee several years ago to engage in various work-force initiatives, most notably the active renewal of the BIG-STEP program, but also the aggressive recruitment of young men and women into the construction industry.

As an association, one of the AGC’s primary responsibilities is to have the “30,000-foot strategic perspective” to solve challenges before they become bigger problems. Obviously, an expanding construction economy, coupled with an aging work force, provides a considerable challenge — not only to our industry, but undoubtedly to many others.

While we have gained considerable traction in providing the necessary supply of men and women for the trades, our challenge now is to spur demand. The AGC and various other construction associations have teamed up with labor unions and joint-apprenticeship training programs to create a supply of new recruits ready to join the ranks as apprentices. We all see the importance of bringing in new blood to assure the continued renewal of our industry.

The ability of any construction company to add apprentices is predicated on having enough consistent work to validate that decision. And the consistent-work situation right now isn’t at its apex.

Nevertheless, many contractors are committed to renewing the industry and are taking steps to assure an appropriate ratio of apprentices to journeymen. Unfortunately, far too many contractors underemploy apprentices relative to the size of their work forces, or, in some cases, they employ no apprentices at all.

This practice is completely unsustainable. If we do not have a sincere and dedicated commitment to apprenticeship training, our industry will face work-force shortages that will affect our capacity to deliver the timely quality expected by our owners.

The AGC, in concert with the Workforce Development Committee and board of directors of the Construction Labor Management Council of Southeastern Wisconsin, has established apprenticeship hiring as an industry priority and adopted several initiatives to increase the demand of apprentice hiring — many of which you will be seeing in coming months. Our efforts are focused on raising the specter of apprenticeship hiring so that this industry remains vibrant and doesn’t face anemia for lack of a renewed work force.

The Workforce Development Committee of the CLMC also will be reaching out to other associations and union leaders urging them to communicate this vital need for apprenticeship training to their respective employers and membership.

For the construction industry to remain vital, we all must put apprenticeship training high on our radar screens.