Remember other 90% of construction apprentices
It is with great excitement we read that Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Allentown recently to tour the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Training Center and see its apprenticeship
program.
We appreciate that he has been promoting registered apprenticeship in skilled trades and seeking opportunities to fund programs for more training. Associated Builders & Contractors, Keystone Chapter is also one of Pennsylvania’s nearly 800 registered apprenticeship programs and can say firsthand how they help develop professional skills in satisfying construction careers.
Unfortunately, this tour and many of the governor’s talking points ignore a majority of the construction workforce. Shapiro is engrossed only in the union apprenticeship programs, which have great instruction for workers interested in joining a union as part of their career. However, nearly 90% of the construction workforce is not unionized and the governor is not engaged with those registered apprenticeship programs, which represent a significant majority of workers. There is plenty of room in the sandbox for training and job opportunities in both union and non-unionized shops, but that requires the governor to acknowledge both pathways.
Registered apprenticeship is a great training opportunity for anyone interested in learning skilled trades. Whether it be carpentry; plumbing; electrical; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; or a number of the other trades available through our organization or another — the opportunity to learn that trade for a lifelong career is available.
Best of all, after completing that classroom and on the job training in four or five years you earn the equivalent of a college diploma in the construction industry without any student debt. As student debt continues to rise along with the rapidly increasing retirements of workers, it is easy to see that apprenticeship is an option that can benefit so many Pennsylvanians.
Shapiro’s support for the concept of apprenticeship is on point, as is his call to eliminate college education as a requirement for state workers and now the state police. But while the intent of these approaches is to support as many opportunities as possible, the vision that is being communicated will not be realized
as it is shortsighted.
Unfortunately, many of his policies and his engagement with union-only apprenticeship programs do the exact opposite as they are designed to limit job opportunities in construction. Without a clear commitment to both union and non-union career pathways and the training
provided by both sides, he is advocating for only one pathway.
What is perplexing in championing only the union model is that this viewpoint misses that the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry oversees all registered apprenticeship programs in our state — with additional federal oversight.
That being said, the governor and his Cabinet are well aware of all programs in the state and essentially approve their curriculum. Why not embrace non-union apprenticeship just as openly when you oversee both? The success of our workforce and Shapiro’s vision for a “people-powered economy in Pennsylvania” needs as much diversity as possible. That includes the diversity of the individual but also the diversity in the business models and learning opportunities available.
Being blunt, there should be no incentive from the government to support a union or a non-union apprenticeship program (or contractor). The signals from the administration to date are rightly promoting apprenticeship and careers in skilled trades but only for those in unions.
The approach should be inclusive of everyone to provide as many opportunities as possible and provide the individual with a choice of where they want to go in their career. There is already an uneven playing field in the construction industry for union contractors and it is a disservice to future construction workers if this administration is heading down the path of creating the only advantages in union education through their registered apprenticeship programs.
We have a standing invitation for Shapiro to visit our classrooms and workshop to learn about our registered apprenticeship program. We strongly encourage the governor and his administration to look into the roster of all programs to visit other non-union apprenticeship programs to learn about them and their successes. ABC Keystone is proud of our high graduation rates across all trades in our model and those graduates enter the same workforce that union apprentices are working in.
It only makes sense to see both models in operation and support how they both build Pennsylvania’s economy. I am confident that anyone visiting our open shop will have an eye-opening experience and connect that we do need to work together.