Filling a need
Contractors sponsor apprentices, provide field work experience
Construction institute graduates its largest class of construction trade specialists.
Broward-based Associated Builders and Contractors just graduated its largest class of construction trade specialists, helping to fill an industrywide need for electricians, plumbers, roofers and other specialty construction trades.
ABC’s construction institute graduated 150 tradesmen last Saturday — and they already have jobs.
“There’s a shortage. The shortage is more acute in mechanical electrical and plumbing trades,” said Peter Dyga, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors’ East Florida chapter.
Workers don’t pay a dime for training, he said.
Contractors sponsor apprentices at the school and also provide experience working in the field. Associated Builders’ program trains electricians, plumbers, utility lineman, fire sprinkler installers, roofers, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning specialists.
Five years ago, the Coconut Creek-based school was graduating only 25 apprentices a year. But with construction growth and high demand for tradesmen in the state, the program is burgeoning.
By September, the school expects
to have more than 1,000 apprentices enrolled, Dyga said.
More than 50 companies sponsored apprentices in the recent graduating class. The companies that invested in more than 10 apprentices included Advanced Roofing in Fort Lauderdale, C. Davis Electric in Miramar, Meisner Electric in Delray Beach, and MasTec North America in Coral Gables.
Manuel Arismendy, Florida division vice president for MasTec, said 21 of the utility linemen graduates are working for MasTec as well as 71 enrolled in the school. “And we’re enrolling 60 more,” he said.
“We’re growing at a really rapid pace,” he added. “One of the biggest challenges is finding the right resources.”
MasTec provides specialty contractors for Florida utilities and communications companies. Arismendy said demand for linemen has been spurred by changes in communications technology, new real estate development, upgraded infrastructure, and population growth in Florida.
He said MasTec sponsors a diverse group of apprentices, from those in their 20’s to 50’s in age, as well as workers from Haiti, Cuba and Colombia. After completing the apprenticeship program, a lineman can make from $24 to $45 an hour, he said.
Dyga said due to strong demand for the trades in the region, wages “are higher in South Florida than other parts of the state.”
For more information on the apprenticeships, visit WeTrain.org. New classes begin in late August, but Associated Builders has open enrollment throughout the year, Dyga said.