New Report: Union Apprenticeships Powering Workforce Growth in California Construction Industry

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AP News – Published 6:31 AM EDT, October 22, 2025

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2025 / EINPresswire.com / — The annual number of California workers graduating registered apprenticeship programs in the construction trades has surged nearly 62% over the last decade, according to a new study released by industry watchdog NorCal Construction Industry Compliance (NCIC). In particular, the report details how union-affiliated apprenticeship programs have led the industry’s efforts to expand and diversify its labor force–finding that these programs train nine out of every ten registered construction apprentices in the state, including 96% of female construction apprentices, 95% of black apprentices, and 94% of Hispanic apprentices. It notes that union programs also graduate workers at a higher rate than four-year colleges, deliver average annual wages that rival workers with college degrees, and offer participants average annual wage increases that have kept pace with inflation.

Read the Report, “Crafting Careers: Registered Apprenticeship in California ’s Construction Industry.”

Registered apprenticeships are a tuition-free workforce development system, where programs must meet nationally recognized standards established by the US Department of Labor to provide participants with portable, industry-recognized credentials. Depending on the trade, programs can take up to five years to complete, combining a mix of classroom and on-the-job training for which participants earn a paycheck. California has the nation’s largest registered apprenticeship system, and over 63% of its apprentices are in the fast-growing construction industry, which employed 4% (nearly 700,000 workers) of all California workers and contributed $129 billion to the state’s GDP in 2024.

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Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums

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White House
March 6, 2024

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  My Administration’s Investing in America agenda includes a once-in-a-generation investment in our Nation’s infrastructure.  This agenda is also driving the creation of well-paying jobs and growing the economy sustainably and equitably, and it will continue to do so for decades to come.  To fully realize the benefits of these investments, students and workers at all stages of life need equitable access to education and training for the good jobs in their communities.

Critical to achieving these goals is promoting Registered Apprenticeships, as described in title 29, parts 29 and 30, of the Code of Federal Regulations, which provide substantial benefits to both workers and employers.  As the Nation’s largest employer and procurer of goods and services, the Federal Government can be a model for the use and promotion of skills-based hiring, such as the use of Registered Apprenticeships, which reduces barriers to employment and attracts a diverse workforce to meet our Nation’s critical needs.  My Administration has made strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce a management priority.  As a part of its overall strategy to hire, retain, and develop the people needed to accomplish executive department and agency (agency) missions and to create equitable, transparent, and transferable career-development pathways, the Federal Government can scale and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs to modernize and broaden avenues to Federal jobs, thereby improving access to opportunities for underserved workers.

Additionally, Labor-Management Forums provide an opportunity for managers, employees, and employees’ union representatives to discuss how Federal Government operations can promote satisfactory labor relations and improve the productivity and effectiveness of the Federal Government.  Labor-Management Forums, as complements to the existing collective bargaining process, allow managers and employees to collaborate in order to continue to deliver the highest quality goods and services to the American people.

It is the policy of my Administration to promote Registered Apprenticeships to meet employer needs while investing in workers’ skills; reducing employment barriers; and promoting job quality, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for the benefit of the Federal Government and the Nation.  Further, it is the policy of my Administration to establish cooperative and productive labor-management relations throughout the executive branch.

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Are plumbing apprentice graduates safer than their non-apprentice peers? Workers’ compensation claims among journey level plumbers by apprenticeship participation

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Journal of Safety Research
Volume 83, December 2022, Pages 349-356

Abstract
Introduction: Apprenticeships combine mentored on-the-job training with related instruction to develop a workforce with the skills sought by employers. Workplace safety is an important component of apprenticeship training. Whether that training results in fewer work injuries, however, is largely unknown. Method: We linked Washington’s registered apprenticeship data, plumber certification (licensing) data, employment data, and workers’ compensation claims to compare claim rates among journey level plumbers (JLP) by apprenticeship participation. We used negative binomial regression models to estimate rates of total claims, wage replacement/disability claims, acute injuries, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), adjusted for worker characteristics. Results: Among JLP certified between 2000 and 2018, rates among JLP with no apprenticeship training were 46% higher for total workers’ compensation claims (adjusted Rate Ratio (aRR) = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.26–1.69) and 60% higher for wage replacement/disability claims (aRR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.22–2.11), compared to rates among JLP who completed a plumbing apprenticeship. Apprentice graduates experienced a greater decline in the rate of total claims between the 5 years preceding JLP certification and the years after certification (55.3% vs. 41.4% among JLP with no apprenticeship training). Greater rate reductions among JLP apprentice graduates were also observed for acute injuries and MSD, although the decline in MSD was not significantly different from the decline among JLP with no apprenticeship training. Conclusions: Successful completion of a plumbing apprenticeship program is associated with fewer work injuries throughout the career of a JLP. Apprenticeships appear to play a key role in reducing work injuries among JLP, especially acute injuries. Practical Applications: Apprenticeships are an effective model for reducing workplace injuries. The mechanisms by which apprenticeship training improves workplace safety should be identified to better inform injury prevention efforts among apprentices as well as among workers outside of a formal apprenticeship arrangement.

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State study: Apprenticeship training connected with safer workplaces

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MLT News | Posted: January 14, 2023

Apprenticeship programs result in safer workers. That’s the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind study by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). As apprenticeship programs continue to grow, they could reduce serious worker injuries and workers’ compensation claims.

“Apprentices are safer because they’re learning all the proper techniques,” said Peter Guzman, manager of L&I’s Apprenticeship Program. “Now the science backs us up.”

…

The results of the study come at a time of expansion for registered apprenticeship programs in Washington. There is record involvement, with 22,000 workers currently participating in apprenticeships across about 200 registered programs in the state. While construction trades such as carpenter, ironworker and electrician have the most active participants, there are growing programs in the technology, aerospace and medical assistant fields.

The study, by L&I’s Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, linked registered apprenticeship data with plumber certification information. Then, it compared worker compensation claims between 2000-2018. The work underwent a rigorous peer review and publication last fall in the Journal of Safety Research.

The findings show workers’ compensation claim rates were 31% lower among journey-level plumbers with apprenticeship training compared to plumbers who did not complete an apprenticeship.

“This study provides support for what many believe: There are fewer injuries among apprentices,” said Dr. Dave Bonauto, SHARP manager.

SHARP epidemiologist Dr. Sara Wuellner, a 13-year agency veteran, led the study.

“While the study focused on plumbers, it indicates apprenticeships not only provide well-trained workers, they also contribute to a safer workplace,” she said. “Other studies could look at specific parts of apprenticeship and show how that occurs.”

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NABTU Workforce Development Programs are Increasing Diversity in the Construction Industry

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NABTU | Washington, D.C. — January 17, 2023 — Today, at its first Opportunity Pipeline Forum, North America’s Building Trades Unions released a new report from the Institute for Construction Economics Research (ICERES) entitled, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” which examines workforce development and diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry, including the unique programmatic success of building trade programs and their results.

The study evaluates initiatives in the construction industry to promote greater workforce diversity, including recruitment, pre-apprenticeship, mentoring, retention, and apprenticeship training programs and looks at the success rates between union and non-union programs. The report finds that union programs are far more effective than non-union programs at recruiting and training more women and racially diverse groups into the construction industry.

“Improving diversity and making the skilled trades a more equitable and inclusive work environment is a challenge that requires conscious efforts and initiatives that track outcomes, which improve access to these jobs and provide support for workers from historically underrepresented groups,” said Dr. Amy Tracy Wells, one of the ICERES study authors and Lecturer at Rutgers University. “This study attempts to facilitate the strengthening of the DEI initiatives in all parts of the construction sector by providing perspectives on the current state of these programs in the construction industry—highlighting some of the best and most innovative practices—and offering insight on recent trends in the traditional pipeline to the skilled trades: registered apprenticeship training programs.”

“This is the first study of its kind and gives our entire industry a benchmark in which we are all held to the same standard on DEI and workforce development programs,” said NABTU President McGarvey. “The ICERES study demonstrates building trades unions’ programs are successful because of deliberate, intentional work and critical partnerships with community-based organizations, industry leaders, and government agencies. The findings underscore that investing programmatically throughout the workforce development pipeline and utilizing true workforce development tools like PLAs and collective bargaining work. With massive federal investments from the IRA, CHIPS, and Infrastructure Bill needing more on-ramps to Registered Apprenticeships, we look forward to organizations like TradesFutures helping us advance these successful DEI programs, maximize investments and meet the moment to provide more meaningful middle-class career pathways for diverse communities across America.”

Read the ICERES Study: “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” by Cihan Bilginsoy, University of Utah; David Bullock, University of Michigan; Amy Tracy Wells, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Roland Zullo, University of Michigan; and editors: Julie Brockman, Michigan State University and Russell Ormiston, Allegheny College.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Betsy Barrett at bbarrett@nabtu.org or 202-997-3266.

The Skilled Labor Battle: Trade School Vs. College

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Jan. 10, 2023 | Kelly L. Faloon

When it comes to preparing for their work future, today’s young people have some difficult decisions ahead of them: what they want to do in their work life, where to obtain the knowledge and training, how to pay for their education, and what the job prospects will be when they complete their schooling.

For anyone desiring a college degree, the price can be daunting in any field.

“The cognitive competencies that are in high demand in the workforce are generally associated with higher levels of education,” notes a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). “Today, two out of three jobs require postsecondary education and training, while three out of four jobs in the 1970s required a high school diploma or less. Yet while young people today need more education than ever to compete in the labor market, a college education is more expensive than in the past.”

The 2021 report, “If Not Now, When? The Urgent Need for an All-One-System Approach to Youth Policy,” illustrates that between 1980 and 2020, college costs rose 169%. …

The Skilled Labor Dilemma

So how can young people obtain a secondary education that will provide them with a good standard of living but not cripple them in debt?

Whether you call it trade school, vocational school or career and technical education (CTE), these learning institutions can teach young people the skills and training they need to enter a career with financial stability, such as plumbing, HVACR or electrical. These jobs are fairly recession-proof and cannot be outsourced overseas.

The market size of U.S. trade and technical schools is $15.1 billion in 2022, notes an IBIS World market report. And a Bloomberg article notes that more young people are entering apprenticeship programs in many industries.

“U.S. companies are increasingly tapping high school students for skilled jobs,” the August 2022 article notes. “As a result, apprenticeships are seeing a renaissance after failing to gain a foothold over the past few decades. About 214,000 people aged 16 to 24 were in apprenticeships in 2022, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to July data from the U.S. Department of Labor.”

Bloomberg adds that it’s “part of a national rethink by employers scrambling to fill about 10.7 million vacancies by developing their own talent pipelines.”

Regarding trade careers in construction, plumbing and HVACR are some of the highest-paying trades today. Candidates can obtain a two-year associate’s degree or certification, but many go directly into four- or five-year apprenticeship programs.

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FACT SHEET: White House Announces over $40 Billion in American Rescue Plan Investments in Our Workforce – With More Coming

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The White House – Briefing Room

July 12, 2022

Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver remarks at White House Summit and reinforce call for state and local leaders to invest American Rescue Plan funds to help more Americans secure good-paying jobs

On Wednesday, the White House will announce that over $40 Billion in American Rescue Plan funds have been committed to strengthening and expanding our workforce. White House officials will highlight top American Rescue Plan workforce best practices from Governors, Mayors, and County Leaders across the country, and call on more government officials and private sector leaders to expand investments in our workforce. Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks kicking off a half-day White House Summit. Since passage of the law, states, localities, community colleges, and local organizations have leveraged American Rescue Plan resources to deliver training, expand career paths, encourage more Registered Apprenticeships, provide retention and hiring bonuses in critical industries, and power efforts to help underserved Americans and those who face barriers to employment secure good jobs. These investments in the workforce – along with the American Rescue Plan’s direct payroll support that has saved or restored jobs across a broad set of industries – have contributed to a record 9 Million jobs added since President Biden took office in the fastest and strongest jobs recovery in American history.

The half-day White House Summit on the American Rescue Plan and the Workforce will feature remarks by Vice President Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, a session on state American Rescue Plan workforce investments with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, as well as panels with Mayors, County Leaders, and Labor and Community Leaders on their model American Rescue Plan workforce programs. The Summit will focus on three major areas of American Rescue Plan investment:

1. Building a Diverse and Skilled Infrastructure Workforce: President Biden and Vice President Harris have launched the Administration’s Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge to encourage immediate partnerships by the public and private sectors to ensure we have the diverse and strong workforce needed to help rebuild our infrastructure and supply chains here at home with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Today’s session will focus on innovative programs to meet this challenge like the DC Infrastructure Academy, with a special focus on Pre-Apprenticeship programs funded by the American Rescue Plan. Pre-Apprenticeship programs play a critical role in diversifying the talent pipeline by training, placing, and retaining workers through Registered Apprenticeships – which the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) has cited as having a return on investment for employers of as much as $3 for every $1 invested. …

2. Strengthening Our Care and Public Health Workforce: The pandemic exposed the fragility and importance of our care economy. As part of an unprecedented commitment to a stronger care workforce, the American Rescue Plan contains significant investments in public health and the care economy that will help provide better pay and career opportunities for care workers and make it easier for workers with child and elder care responsibilities to join and stay in the workforce. U.S. prime-age labor force participation has fallen behind that of its competitors, in part due to lack of family friendly policies. Studies show that access to care can be an important determinant of whether workers are able to join or remain in the labor force. Millions of families rely on paid child and elder care to work, while millions more struggle to afford or find available care. The demand for child and elder care remains high and will only grow, with a projected need for over a million additional home health care workers over the next decade. Studies have shown that quality pathways for nursing aides leads to better outcomes for patients and workers. The American Rescue Plan is helping deliver supports for quality pathways for these essential jobs. …

3. Expanding Access to the Workforce for Underserved Populations: American Rescue Plan funds are being used to recruit more Americans facing barriers to employment – homelessness, disability, prior criminal justice involvement – and giving them pathways into the workforce. More than 600,000 people leave prison every year and confront significant challenges in accessing and sustaining stable, meaningful employment – a 2018 study estimated that formerly incarcerated individuals experience an unemployment rate of over 27 percent, exponentially higher than the overall national unemployment rate. Investments in expanding access to the workforce strengthen our economy by increasing labor force participation and tapping into the potential of more Americans, and research shows that certain programs – such as comprehensive reentry programs and summer youth employment programs – can significantly reduce crime. …

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Illinois’ solar industry is looking to train a new generation of clean-energy workers

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By Jenny Whidden | Daily Herald – June 23, 2022

With Illinois looking ahead to its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050, organizations are working to secure a workforce that is ready to install and maintain clean energy infrastructure, including solar arrays.

The passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act last fall essentially pushed up Illinois’ previous goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025, setting a more ambitious target of 40% by 2030. With the state generating just 11% renewable electricity as of 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, stakeholders say they are preparing to train a new generation of energy workers to respond to the lofty legislation.

“Given the significant amount of clean energy opportunities in the state, we certainly are going to need an expanded workforce,” said Lesley McCain, executive director of the Illinois Solar Energy Association. “The solar industry is open for business. We are hiring.”

Solar energy most recently accounted for 0.93% of the state’s electricity, creating about 5,200 jobs, according to the Solar Energies Industries Association.

One organization that is looking to ramp up workforce training in the solar space is the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, the state’s largest carpenters union.

The union’s four-year apprentice program provides solar panel installation training to its apprentices and collaborates with contractors to build solar projects throughout the state.

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Gov. Wolf Announces $11 Million in Workforce Development Funding for PAsmart Apprenticeship Programs

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Office of the Governor Tom Wolf
April 14, 2022

Governor Tom Wolf today announced awards totaling more than $11 million for 26 apprenticeship programs that will empower Pennsylvania workers to earn while they learn and support Pennsylvania businesses in building a pipeline of talent for occupations in agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, IT, education, human services, building trades and more.

“Throughout history, apprenticeships have been a vital and necessary part of career education in certain fields,” Gov. Wolf said. “By expanding these important programs to more occupations and industries, we are offering Pennsylvania workers opportunities to train for family-sustaining jobs while helping businesses develop a workforce that will strengthen our economy and our communities.”

Each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties will be served by one or more of the funded programs.

Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jennifer Berrier said the funding comes at an important juncture for Pennsylvania’s workers and employers alike.

“Today, workers have the power to demand better pay, better benefits and safer working conditions. Pennsylvania’s economic recovery from the pandemic depends significantly on what we do now to respond to those demands,” Berrier said. “Workforce development is most successful when community members collaborate to develop practical solutions to collective problems. The apprenticeship programs funded through PAsmart are precisely the types of solutions we need to meet this moment.”

The grants, offered through L&I’s Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO), are part of Governor Wolf’s PA Statewide Movement for Accountability, Readiness and Training (PAsmart) framework, which is designed to better align education, workforce and economic development initiatives and funding.

In March, the administration also announced a new round of grant funding available to Pennsylvania apprenticeship programs to develop diverse talent pipelines and reach underrepresented populations within the building and construction trades. A total of $1.5 million is available, and applications are due by April 21.

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If construction firms need workers, they should turn to unions

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Mark Ziegler
MARCH 30, 2022

Competition is the foundation of our free enterprise system.

Just as business success requires an ability to compete for customers, it also depends on attracting and retaining qualified workers.

As COVID 19 has disrupted just about every industry that relies on in-person or face-to-face work, there have been plenty of complaints about “labor shortages.” But not nearly enough discussion about what it takes to compete for labor.

Construction is the fastest growing sector of our state’s economy. For the past 40 years I have worked in the industry and am the former president of Amerect, Inc. We specialize in the erection of structural steel and precast concrete for commercial and industrial buildings. It is highly skilled and physically demanding work that must be done in person.

Our company’s success is largely driven by our partnership with union ironworkers, operating engineers and their hiring halls across the state and country. …

Often, I’ll ask if they are parties to a collective bargaining agreement with the trade unions who supply us with the craft workers we use on our projects.

Very often, the answer is no.

Yes, union construction workers earn higher wages, and most have health and retirement benefits.

They also complete years of apprenticeship training to learn their craft with the highest standards of safety and productivity. This training is funded exclusively by union members and signatory contractors through hourly contributions to the joint apprenticeship fund. These joint apprenticeship programs produce 10 times the skilled trade workers in Minnesota as non-union programs, despite having nowhere near that level of overall market share.

In the union construction model, pay rates, working conditions and apprenticeship funding is privately negotiated between unions and individual employers or groups of employers.

In exchange for a per-hour investment in workers — whose unions also take on the cost of administering health and pension programs — employers receive a steady labor supply. We get access to the specific skills and documented certifications we need, when we need them — whether it’s heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, structural and reinforcing ironworkers or carpenters.

The non-union side of the industry operates very differently. There’s no comparable financing mechanism for recruiting and training apprentices. A recent study revealed that workers earn as much as 32% less and are half as likely to have health insurance or retirement benefits. Nearly 13% rely on food stamps — effectively a government subsidy of low-wage construction employers.

Ultimately, lower wages attract workers with lower skill levels. And research has shown these factors can contribute to lower productivity, more safety problems on the jobsite, and costly problems with employee turnover and craftsmanship. This is a major reason why researchers have concluded there is no real difference in cost between projects built by union or non-union construction workers.

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