Low-income Workers Struggle to Learn Demands of Construction Industry

Some of the biggest hurdles faced by low-income workers coming into the construction industry include transportation to the job and training; not knowing the expectations of the job (including the physical demands and showing up to work on time and appropriately dressed); and the academics of apprenticeship, particularly the level of math skills required, according to a recent webinar on strategies for supporting the retention and advancement of construction workers and apprentices These challenges, in turn, lead to high cancellation rates among apprentices across a variety of construction trades, according to data gathered by the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (WSI), which recently conducted a webinar on strategies for supporting the retention and advancement of construction workers and apprentices. The webinar was held as part WSI’s efforts to disseminate information it has gathered during its multi-year exploration of the capacity of the workforce system to prepare individuals — particularly low-income and minority jobseekers — for jobs in the construction industry. Additional challenges included juggling work with classes, studying and family life; budgeting skills, such as being able to set aside money in case of a layoff or purchasing necessary tools; finding child care that accommodates a construction worker’s schedule and then paying for it; learning and understanding commonly used industry terms; being paired with journeyworkers who aren’t interested in training them or contractors who don’t provide good on-the-job training; and a culture that includes sexism, racism, and hazing. While much of the information is anecdotal, it is interesting to note that many of the barriers to bringing “non-traditional workers” such as women and minorities who are often the low-income workers being served by pre-apprenticeship programs, are beyond the control of the employer and apprenticeship program. Such skills as work-life balance, budgeting, being physically fit, having good attendance, etc., are all personal traits not usually addressed by employers. Numerous pre-apprenticeship programs, including the two included on the webinar - WRTP/BIG STEP in Milwaukee and Partners for a Competitive Workforce in Cincinnati – do provide additional help in such areas in order to help their pre-apprentices succeed in the construction industry. Previous WSI work has included a national survey of pre-apprenticeship programs, a report on some strong construction pre-apprenticeship programs, and a follow-up report summarizing interviews with leaders from 25 promising and innovative pre-apprenticeship programs from across the country. All the reports are available as free PDFs from the WSI website.