Operating Engineers Local 324 Career and Outreach Representative John Hartwell joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed why more teachers, guidance counselors and parents have embraced registered building trades apprenticeship programs as solid career pathway for young people.
Hartwell appeared as part of National Apprenticeship Week, which ends on Nov. 20. Local 324 represents 14,500 members and covers the entire state of Michigan.
Over the last 15 years, parents, teachers and guidance counselors have given the building trades more of their respect, and as a result, more students are considering apprenticeships as a vehicle to lucrative and challenging careers, Hartwell said. Parents have come to realize that America needs construction workers and college education is not the only option to a good-paying job, he added.
Hartwell also spoke about the evolution of technology within the building trades and how it has impacted apprenticeship training and journeyman upgrade classes. Drones are now used to guage highway construction, estimate the size of a stockpile on a job site and inspect crane booms for safety issues. Autonomous remote control equipment can be used in dangerous work environments. He acknowledged these new technologies are attractive to young people.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.