Report Calls for More Federal Investment in Apprenticeship and Infrastructure

A recent report by The Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative focused on  the apprenticeship completion and cancellation rates among 18 construction crafts, including roofers, painters, laborers, carpenters, electricians, sheet metal workers, operating engineers, painters, glaziers, and drywall and ceiling tile installers. The report titled, “Apprenticeship: Completion and Cancellation in the Building Trades,” is the latest in a series of research reports into the construction industry, including a 2009 national survey on construction pre-apprenticeship programs. Using data gleaned from apprenticeship programs in the 25 states that report to the federal Office of Apprenticeship and a few additional states that supplied data on apprenticeship cancellation rates, the report’s key findings include:

• The cancellation rate of apprentices varies by the age of apprentices, with those entering the program between the ages of 25 and 34 having the lowest cancellation rate at 44 percent. This puts into question whether an industry focus on attracting young people straight of high school is the best way to increase the number of people engaged in registered apprenticeship programs.
• Apprentices who have obtained at least a high school diploma had a higher completion rate (56 percent) than those who had a GED or less (46 percent).
• Construction apprenticeship completion rates 35.9 percent (plus 18 percent still active in apprenticeship) are higher than community college completion rates. “Only 22 percent of the full-time students who enrolled in a community college for the first time in the fall semester 2003-2004 earned a certificate or associate’s degree at any institution within six years.”

When the report’s authors looked into why apprentices leave their programs, they were hindered by a lack of data, even from the 25 states that report to the federal Office of Apprenticeship, with the majority of cancelled apprentices simply listed as “cancellation” (77 percent) as opposed to citing specific reasons, such as “left for other employment” or “unsatisfactory performance.” While the authors conducted numerous interviews with program sponsors, employers and apprentices, and found a broad range of reasons why apprentices either quit or were asked to leave a program, it is all anecdotal and cannot be quantified. For instance, some apprentices cited the financial difficulties endured during layoffs; some cited the physical hardships of the work; others cited the difficulties associated with balancing work, classroom training and personal life; while others said they did not have the math skills necessary for construction work. The report concludes with a multi-step action plan for policymakers, investors, pre-apprenticeship programs, apprenticeship programs and industry leaders that includes several steps that AGC of America strongly supports:

• Give the Office of Apprenticeship more resources to expand its ability to collect and analyze quality data.
• Use infrastructure investments to put construction workers back to work, helping alleviate the problems experienced by both apprentices and journeyworkers in finding continuous employment.
• Improve apprenticeship programs’ access to government support. “Apprenticeship programs receive little, if any, government support to help pay for the cost of training apprentices. As such, apprenticeship programs’ resources are not sufficient to address all of the barriers to completing an apprenticeship,” including costs of housing, child care and  transportation. The report specifically cites creating a connection between Workforce Investment Act funds and apprenticeship programs, a suggestion AGC of America has made to federal policymakers looking to re-authorize the act.