Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 27, 2025 CONNECTICUT'S JOURNEYMAN TO APPRENTICE RATIO REQUIRED LICENSED APPRENTICES JOURNEYMEN/ CONTRACTORS 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 6 5 9 6 12 7 15 8 18 9 21 10 24 Source: Dept. of Consumer Protection Young workers participate in the Associated Builders and Contractors' apprenticeship training program, which takes place at the Construction Education Center in Plainville. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Building Up Construction industry training programs yield new talent pipeline; some say more is needed, including hiring ratio reforms, to address labor shortage Founded in Rocky Hill in 2007, the school moved to Plainville in 2018 in search of larger premises. "We weren't able to offer the hands-on training portion of the curriculum," said the school's education director Marcie Addy. "One of the member companies took the lead on building this new facility for us. So now our entire building is 8,000 square feet, and we have the hands-on training rooms that are available for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal and carpentry." The school currently has 142 apprentices enrolled. It also provides continuing education and certifica- tions for people who are already in the skilled trades. Addy says they have no shortage of applicants, and plan to continue expanding to as many as 280 appren- ticeship places in the next four years. "I do see more parents who are open to their children pursuing a career in the trades," she said. Tuition at the school runs about $2,500 a year, but Addy says many students are able to get either schol- arships or employer sponsorships that cut the cost. And the need does seem to be out there when they graduate. "There are estimates that say more than one in five construction workers is 55 or older," said Fryxell. "We're losing people to retirement, and really we're losing the most experienced skilled workers, and we're not filling them in quickly enough. I still feel like we're losing ground each year." By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com H iring rules and the workforce shortage in construction will become issues at the legis- lature this session, with numerous lawmakers drafting bills to address Connecticut's apprenticeship hiring regulations. "We are exacerbating the skilled worker shortage," said Chris Fryxell, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors. "And we're making it more difficult for Connecticut to meet our goals of improving our infrastructure and improving on things like afford- able housing, improving our roads and bridges." Fryxell was lamenting the state's 1:3 apprenticeship hiring ratio require- ment on contracting companies in electrical, plumbing, pipe fitting, HVAC and metal-working trades. The rule requires contractors to have a certain number of licensed journeymen on staff for each apprentice they hire. Contractors can hire up to three apprentices at a 1:1 ratio. That means a company must have three licensed journeymen on staff if it wants three apprentices. It would need two jour- neymen for two apprentices. After the first three apprentice hires, the ratio increases. So, a company with 12 licensed journeymen can only have six appren- tices. To hire a seventh apprentice, the company must expand to 15 journeymen. Smaller companies for whom this would be a burden are supposed to be able to apply for a waiver through the state Department of Labor, but many say the waiver process itself is lengthy, cumbersome and the outcomes uncertain. "It's preventing new workers from going after their goal of becoming a skilled craftsperson," Fryxell said. "We would love to reduce that apprenticeship hiring ratio to one-to-one." Several Republican lawmakers have proposed bills in the Labor and Public Employees Committee that would lower or even eliminate the hiring ratio. Another proposed bill aims to expedite the applica- tion process for apprenticeship ratio relief. Hands-on training Fryxell's organization represents about 250 companies in what's known as the "merit shop" side of the construction industry — that is, non-union. It's addressing the need for skilled workers with its own initiative — an associated nonprofit school called the Construction Education Center. Chris Fryxell Marcie Addy

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