St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary Don Mullin joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the array of creative strategies the Council’s affiliated Joint Apprentice Training Committees (JATCs) utilize to recruit young people into the trades.
The St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council represents 15 unions in five Minnesota counties.
Mullin said many recruiters engage students not only at the high school level, but also in middle school, and then follow up with those students to gauge their interest. The interaction is based on apprenticeship materials from the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU). They also use creative projects such as building bridges from sticks or constructing marshmallow guns from PVC pipes to teach students trade skills.
Additionally, Mullin discussed local partnerships the Council has forged with the counties in its jurisdiction to help people interested in apprenticeships get a driver's licenses, secure childcare and apply for car loans – Frequent challenges that can prevent people from joining the trades.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.