Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 3, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 17 SPECIAL SERIES Construction embraces apprentices, too By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com C onnecticut, like many other states, is experiencing a shortage of carpenters, brick masons, steelwork- ers, electricians, heating, air condi- tioning and ventilation installers, and other residential-construction skilled tradespeople. And, as it has partnered with its manufacturers to create and en- hance skills development through apprenticeship training, Connecti- cut's labor overseer offers an ongo- ing apprenticeship development program to the building trades. Connecticut's building-trades employment routinely oscillates, according to the season and often in step with the state and national economies, observers say. The 2008 near-global financial collapse, and the subsequent U.S. Great Recession greatly eroded de- mand for new homes and buildings here and in other states. The result was "you lost a genera- tion of workers entering into the con- struction field," says Ellington home builder Eric Santini, who is president of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Central Connecticut. Filling that construction-skills gap will take time, but the state Department of Labor says such training is underway in both the public and private sectors. According to Todd Berch, who is the state Department of Labor's apprenticeship manager, there are between 5,000 and 5,500 men and women enrolled in two- to four- year construction apprentice train- ing programs. Those who success- fully complete the training, Berch said, are then eligible to apply to take the state's journeymen licens- ing examination. Many of the state's manufactur- ing and construction apprentice- ship-enrollees got their exposure in the state's vocational-technical high schools and will continue to be one of the biggest sources of construc- tion apprentices. On top of those, all of the state's leading building- trades unions offer apprenticeship training programs, authorities say. Private building contractors, too, are eligible to offer appren- tice training in their shops, as long as they first register with DOL, Berch said. "If any com- pany wants to have an apprenticeship program, they need to start one," he said. Plainville commercial interior contractor Melissa Sheffy says she has four apprentices and two pre-apprentices — about the same count as in recent years — on her staff at Network Interiors LLC. "I pay for my apprentices for their four-year training because I believe in education," said Sheffy, Network Interiors' owner-president. "It just makes sense.'' Sheffy says she regularly plies friends and family, seeking referrals of qualified young people who want a construction career. Southington High School, too, refers candidates to Sheffy whom she helps place with other construction contractors. "I find the best way I get people is through referrals,'' Sheffy said. ing — quality, sheet metal work, run- ning the drill press, doing brazing —he found he liked machining and honed his skills on computer numerically con- trolled turning and milling machines. He also had one of the company's most experienced toolmakers as his mentor, which he says was invaluable as an apprentice. Andújar's path Andújar carved a none too dis- similar path to technical proficiency in manufacturing. He arrived in Con- necticut at age 18 from Puerto Rico in 1988, equipped with a vocational- technical certificate from his birth country as an auto mechanic and speaking little English. "It was hard for me to find a job as a mechanic,'' Andújar says. One day he spied a job ad for what was then Spartan Tools. Andújar assumed they made wrenches and, because he knew how to use one, he applied and was hired on the spot, he said. But he had to learn quickly. "I didn't know what a drill was; what a center bore was,'' he recalled. So, Andújar sought out Casa Boricua, a Meriden support organiza- tion to the region's Spanish-speaking community, and got help learning English and more about manufactur- ing. They sent him, he said, to H.C. Wilcox Technical High School, where he took classes in introduction to machining, blueprint reading and drafting, among other courses. At Wilcox, he ran into a Spartan manager who, too, was taking a course there. In 1991, after complet- ing his Wilcox certifications, Andújar signed up for the state's apprentice- ship-training program there. "It's a special training to have,'' said Andújar, 48, a married father of two. Meantime, Andujur's drive im- pressed his Wilcox classmate, who designated him as an apprentice toolmaker at Spartan, eventually ris- ing to toolroom foreman. Thibodeaux and Andújar say they relish the opportunity to mentor Spartan's apprentices. The challenge, they agree, is retaining young talent prone to poaching by other talent- hungry Connecticut manufacturers. Keeping them engaged with challeng- ing tasks and paying them well are the best anti-poaching remedies for now, they say. after every 1,000 hours completed," said Lehrer, whose company currently has five apprentices in various stages of the program. An example of state-industry appren- ticeship partner- ing came June 18, with the gradua- tion of 12 pupils from East Hart- ford's Synergy Alternative High School for youths with academic and social challenges. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, along with officials from the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) and several employers were on hand as graduates collected not only pre-appren- ticeship training certificates, but most also received job offers. Malloy told the dozen Synergy pre- apprenticeship grads that Connecticut ranks among the top states in ap- prenticeships and urged them to take advantage of skills-training that could one day yield a six-figure paycheck. Olivia Hernandez, 18, can't wait to find out. One of the 12 recent Synergy pre-apprenticeship graduates, Her- nandez said she knew nothing about aerospace composites but had heard all the negative stereotypes about manufacturing before she was placed at ACMT Inc. in Manchester. "I thought it was dirt and dust and oil everywhere,'' she said, with cer- tificate in hand. "I would definitely encourage them to give it a good look." At graduation, ACMT offered her and several Synergy classmates full-time jobs, starting at $15 an hour and with benefits. "I can see myself in a manufacturing career and thriv- ing in it,'' Hernan- dez said. Classmate Fa- viela Delgado, 19, of East Hartford, learned computer numerically con- trolled machine programming and worked on jet- engine fan blades during her ACMT pre-apprentice- ship stint. There, she says she witnessed the gender gap in manufacturing. "You see mostly men. You don't see women. But a woman can do it,'' said Delgado who plans to enroll in one of Manchester Community College's precision and advanced manufactur- ing programs this fall. Another Synergy grad, Angel Car- rasquillo, 17, of East Hartford, did quality-control tasks at ACMT. Carras- quillo recalls as a child accompanying his grandfather on paydays to collect his check from one of Pratt & Whitney's area supply-chain vendors, and gawking at the clattering machinery on the shop floor. He amazed his grandfather when he told him he is considering a manufac- turing career. "It surprised him because he never thought I'd be interested in something he was doing,'' he said. Construction-building trades have long relied on apprenticeships to develop and retain skilled carpenters, masons, steelworkers and pipefitters. Todd Berch, Apprenticeship Program Manager, CT Department of Labor PHOTO | HBJ FILE Apprenticeships slowly growing in popularity The state's Office of Apprenticeship Training currently has 1,674 apprentice sponsor employers, up from 1,583 in 2013. Meantime, there are 6,343 registered apprentices in the state of Connecticut, up from 4,596 in 2013.

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