Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 21, 2023 Blackstone Industries President & CEO Richard Milici (left) shows state Sen. Tony Hwang a cutting tool produced by his company. HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER Workforce Development More CT employers embrace apprenticeships to tackle labor shortages really started to utilize this program a lot more," said Ashley Zane, a lobbyist for the Connecticut Busi- ness & Industry Association. Lavoie, the state's manufacturing czar, said Connecticut has placed a lot of attention and investment in job training because of how hard positions like toolmakers are to fill. By creating an employment pipeline through apprenticeships, businesses can grow their skilled labor base while also training their employees of the future. Workers get to earn money while learning a new trade. Apprenticeships are particularly important as manufac- turers and other industries contend with a graying employee base. "It's another way to develop a workforce," Lavoie said. While manufacturing has been a focus in the past several years due to the longer-term worker shortage in that industry, the state Department of Labor has helped set up appren- ticeship programs in other sectors, including for healthcare agencies, insurers, hairdressers, and just about everything in-between, said Todd Berch, DOL's registered apprenticeship director. "Pretty much any occupation can be an apprenticeable occupation," Berch said. "Apprenticeships have always been looked at as just for blue-collar jobs — it's an employer utilizing registered apprenticeships as a workforce development strategy." Through the state's apprentice- ship training program, companies can receive up to a $7,500 wage reimbursement tax credit annually, per apprentice. In 2022, Zane said the legis- lature expanded the tax credit to include small- to medium-sized businesses that operate as S corps, partnerships and limited liability companies, in addition to corpo- rations. Several smaller compa- nies have taken advantage of the program, including Cheshire-based Marion Manufacturing. "I think one of the things that is drawing the attraction to the appren- ticeship program … is the fact that we have so many open positions, yet we still can't seem to fill them," Zane said. "You can use the apprenticeship program to get workers who might have the aptitude and the drive but not necessarily the skills yet to fill the positions. It really opens up the labor pool and provides new opportunities for employers and employees." In addition to the wage subsidies, legislators in 2018 established the Apprenticeship Connecticut Initiative that aimed to develop workforce pipelines and train workers for job placement. The General Assembly authorized up to $50 million in funding for workforce-related partners across the state to help with the initiative. So far, $15 million has been allocated through the state Bond Commission. Organizations in the state that have received funding from the Appren- ticeship Connecticut Initiative include the: Capital Workforce Partnership; By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com A fter years of steady growth, Bethel-based Blackstone Industries now has 80 employees with room to add a few more. But the state's persistent labor shortage, particularly in manufac- turing, could make it difficult for the blade and power toolmaking manu- facturer to find the right talent. "On the production level, hiring is difficult," said Richard C. Milici, president and CEO of Blackstone Industries. "Years ago, we'd post a job and have 50 applicants on day two. But that's really slowed down." Blackstone Industries, which is made up of five separate brands that make rotary power tools, wood carving blades, dental instruments and other items across several indus- tries, has used many state hiring and training programs in the past. That includes the incumbent worker training program, which provides grants to companies that want to upskill their employees, and the equipment voucher program through the Manufacturing Innovation Fund, which assists companies in buying new technology. One it hasn't tried, but is now considering, is the state's registered apprenticeship program. State officials — including state Sen. Tony Hwang, Connecticut Chief Manu- facturing Officer Paul Lavoie, and state Department of Economic and Community Development Commis- sioner Alexandra Daum — in July visited Blackstone's 40,000-square- foot headquarters to promote appren- ticeships as a way to combat the labor shortage. The apprenticeship program has seen more use in recent years, but business advocates say it could see wider adoption with some legislative tweaks. "The apprenticeship program is something we have talked about internally but haven't used it yet," Milici said. "We do have a lot of use for it though — we have a machine shop, and tool-and-die makers are difficult to find." State program As workforce challenges have worsened in recent years, more Connecticut manufacturers are using the state's formal apprenticeship program, which is run through the Department of Labor (DOL). More than 1,750 employers in the state are registered for the program, with an average of about 6,400 apprentices active at those compa- nies in a given year, according to DOL data from the last five years. Those numbers represent an increase from the end of 2019, when the DOL said about 1,000 companies were enrolled employing 6,000 apprentices. About 5,000 employers have utilized the state's formal apprentice- ship program over the last 10 years, DOL figures show. The program requires employers to work with the labor department to identify a needed job, establish a curriculum, and then launch the registered apprenticeship. "A lot of our member companies, especially within manufacturing, have

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