Education and Apprenticeship: Where it All Begins
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| Each team at the The BIA Future Builders of Hawaii Competition was comprised of two high school students. |
By Jason Soeda
Apprenticeship and training is the lifeblood of Hawaii’s construction industry. And in light of Hawaii’s labor shortage and the magnitude of building projects on the horizon, it’s more important than ever to attract and maintain a quality workforce. Evidently, state educators, construction associations and union leaders realize this. Just look at the pre-apprenticeship and training programs that are available today. The opportunities are everywhere. The question is, why aren’t more young people taking advantage of them? More importantly, will these educational initiatives prove to be the solution to the building industry’s labor shortage? B.I. goes to the head of the class to find out.
Constructive Criticism
There are myriad theories that explain the current labor shortage in Hawaii. We asked several individuals who are considered pillars of the building community. While it’s difficult to make a definitive explanation for the insufficiency in our labor force, here’s a quick snapshot of what’s on the minds of B.I.’s top sources.
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Ramsey Pedersen, Honolulu Community College (HCC) chancellor and founder of the Construction Academy, says: “The labor shortage occurred because of market forces in the 1990s. The Hawaii recession stopped many projects from starting. Thousands of construction jobs were lost with the work cutbacks. Those skilled laborers who could not find work either migrated to boom cities like Seattle, Las Vegas and Phoenix, or went into other careers.”
Kyle Chock, executive director of the Pacific Resource Partnership (PRP), says: “Labor shortage is a big problem in the construction industry, both in Hawaii and nationally. With the building boom, there are more jobs than people to do them. At the same time, the construction workforce is aging, and fewer young people enter the trades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 57 percent of all U.S. carpenters were 35 or older in 2006, and nearly two-thirds of growth in the carpentry workforce comes from the same age group. To attract and train new workers locally, it’s going to take a major effort to think of ways to bring bright, talented young people into the industry. One thing we can do is emphasize that it’s not a choice between college or construction. It’s possible to do both. Young people with business and problem solving experience can really thrive in this industry and find rewarding career opportunities here in their home state.”
Karl Borgstrom, president of Associated Builders and Contractors, Hawaii chapter (ABC Hawaii), says: “It has been this way everywhere in the U.S. for a long time because of the perceptions that people have about the construction industry. Kids get into construction because that is where the jobs are — they don’t see it as a career move without help. The perception problem became even more acute during the high tech boom, when you would think everyone had to make a choice between digging a trench and making a bundle of money writing software in Silicon Valley. Few people outside of the industry truly understand how technically complex the whole process of constructing built environments can be.”
Karen T. Nakamura, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii (BIA-Hawaii), says Hawaii’s workforce is aging: “We’re seeing it (labor shortage) on all levels. For instance, we see it in management because many of the owners and managers of companies are already in their 60s. And we’re seeing it in master craftsmen that are in their 60s who are going to retire.”
Generation Next
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In 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded Honolulu Community College a $1.4 million grant to pilot a Construction Academy program with eight high schools (Kahuku, Kailua, McKinley, Mililani, Pearl City, Radford, Waialua and Waipahu) on the island of Oahu. And in 2006, the Hawaii State Legislature appropriated funds to expand the Construction Academy statewide as a pre-apprenticeship program with Kauai, Honolulu, Maui and Hawaii community colleges.
While in the Construction Academy, high school students actively participate in integrated classroom settings that promote the use of math, reading and writing skills as they engage in building and construction activities. Students also build real world projects such as children’s playhouses and storage sheds to test the skills they have learned. Instructors say this hands-on approach to learning gives students the chance to apply skills in math, communication, construction technology, problem solving and, most importantly, teamwork.
What’s more, high schools students enrolled in Construction Academy courses at participating high schools have the opportunity to earn both high school and college credit. Students can use the college credit earned toward construction-related degree programs, such as carpentry and electrical installation and maintenance technology, at HCC.
Despite the labor shortage, HCC Chancellor Ramsey Pedersen says that it’s an ideal time for young students to start to investigate all levels of careers in construction. He first envisioned the Construction Academy as a way to address the shortage of skilled laborers by providing students with essential job skills for the construction industry. “We want to interest younger students into joining the Construction Academy when they are juniors and seniors in high school and have them take a good look at where the job opportunities are.”
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During Pacific Resource
Partnership’s intensive, two-week “Tools of the Trade”
program, teachers and counselors become students and learn what
it takes to be part of the construction industry in Hawaii. The
teachers can incorporate this knowledge to better prepare their
students for careers in construction. |
Before Pedersen conceived the idea of the Construction Academy, he felt that many high school “shop” classes were not truly construction-oriented. “Through the Construction Academy, students now have the opportunity to get a more holistic vision of the industry. Students should know there are positions throughout the industry that need qualified employees — from the workers on the site building the structures, to the engineers, architects, planners, project managers, financial specialists, human resource managers, economists and analysts, public relations specialists, etc.”
According to Pedersen, there are approximately 1,200 high school students registered in the Construction Academy for spring 2008.
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| Apprentices enrolled as electricians in the Associated Builders and Contractors, Hawaii chapter training program |
Pedersen adds: “The program is structured around the ability of the high schools to team their instructors with ours, develop the high school teachers to current industry practices and standards of work, outfit their shops with a standardized tooling and materials inventory, and give all students the opportunity to participate. It is limited by space and staffing at the DOE (Department of Education) level, and by funding as provided for the community colleges.”
A Joint Effort
B.I. asked Pedersen how essential Honolulu Community College’s pre-apprenticeship program is to Hawaii’s building industry.
Says Pedersen: “HCC and our neighbor island sister colleges all play a role in meeting state needs. We are the Oahu home base for apprenticeship training. When we discuss the industry, we think of the entire pipeline — high school introduction, associate degree programs in specific fields, apprenticeship and journey worker training and professional degree programs at UH Manoa. We looked at the pipeline and focused on bringing more students into the greatest area of shortages — the skilled labor that builds our communities. When we sought funding from the Legislature, it was for a ‘construction initiative’ to deal with expanding the capacity for education and training in the entire pipeline. While I don’t see us as the ‘salvation,’ we are nonetheless extremely linked to fulfilling the needs of the industry and work hand in hand with all the joint apprenticeship councils to make sure the support is there when they decide to expand their intakes. HCC is proud of our role and of bringing the DOE, community colleges and industry together with legislative and executive support to meet industry needs.”
Support System
PRP is an organization that serves as the bridge between Hawaii’s leading contractors and the 7,600-member Hawaii Carpenters Union. As its executive director, Chock is directly responsible for developing and managing programs that support unionized construction, as well as fostering strategic relationships with developers and identifying new markets for growth. While he does this, he is actively involved in the development of the Construction Academy. In fact, from 2003 to 2005, Chock served as the executive assistant for Pedersen. In 2004, Chock authored the grant that secured the funding for the Construction Academy’s pilot program. And in 2006, the Chock-led PRP secured $5.5 million in permanent funding for the Construction Academy.
“The construction industry provides great opportunities for young people in Hawaii,” says Chock.
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| Students in Jeffrey Uyeda’s HCC carpentry apprenticeship class |
“High school students who are interested in a career in construction should talk to their counselor about the Construction Academy. Students enrolled in the Construction Academy can learn some of the basic skills they need while earning dual credits. Some Construction Academy class credits apply to both high school and Honolulu Community College’s Construction Academy, giving those students a head start on their college education.”
While Chock is a dedicated supporter of the Construction Academy, his own organization, PRP, also is committed to advancing construction training. “Our mission at PRP is to expand, prepare for and obtain work for union carpenters and union contractors. As part of that mission, we are working to expand both the supply and demand of construction training programs,” says Chock.
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| “The Godfathers of Drywall Installers” are legendary figures at Honolulu Community College; from left to right: Dennis Clemente, Tran Bumanglag, Darell Maglinti, Ron Tateishi, Danny?Maglangit and Ricky Antolin |
Chock adds: “PRP represents more than 240 of Hawaii’s top contractors as well as the Hawaii Carpenters Union. The Hawaii Carpenters Union’s apprenticeship program pairs classroom experience with on-the-job paid training with our contractors. We are all working together to ensure union contractors have the best-trained and most qualified workforce in the construction industry. With that in mind, in February, the Hawaii Carpenters Union broke ground on a new $15 million training center in Kapolei Business Park. The new training center will provide union members with more opportunities to develop the skills they want and need to advance their careers.”
Defining The Industry
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| The number of female apprentices is rapidly growing. Pictured here are apprentices from the Associated Builders and Contractors, Hawaii chapter training program. |
ABC Hawaii offers state and federal approved apprentice training for carpenters, electricians, painters, plumbers, roofers and sheet metal workers. The program includes on-the-job and hands-on classroom training. Classes are held at a local community college weeknights and on Saturdays. Training lasts from three to five years. Graduates receive up to 45 college credits towards an associates degree in applied building trades.
B.I. asked ABC’s Borgstrom if it’s an ideal time to enter the construction industry.
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“First, it is helpful to define what we mean by ‘construction industry’ in this discussion. The C.I. is a very complex enterprise made up of interdependent parts. If you look at a project delivery cycle, for instance, it starts with entrepreneurs with money to invest, designers who put a plan together to meet the needs and dreams of the owner, structural and other engineers who ensure that all of the functions of a facility or other built entity meet standards of safety and durability, specifications writers who match plans and drawings to the materials and equipment that make the project a real thing, construction managers who plan, coordinate, schedule and oversee the delivery of the project, trade contractors who apply their skills and knowledge to their specialties (electrical, steel erection, concrete, glazing, etc.), as well as a whole range of special support services for accounting, contract management, estimating, CAD drawings, bonding and insurance, legal (including dispute resolution) and marketing. My point, and it is an important one to make, is that the ‘construction industry’ offers an entire array of opportunities which the average person looking at a construction site might not be aware of.”
Changing Lives
BIA-Hawaii is a professional trade organization affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders, representing the building industry and its associates. It is the home of the Construction Training Center of the Pacific (CTC), which provides education and training that supports a sustainable construction workforce in Hawaii through career development and life-long learning programs.
BIA’s Nakamura says: “The Construction Training Center is the workforce development arm of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Our mission is to provide a sustainable workforce for our industry in Hawaii through career development and lifelong learning skills.”
CTC seeks out interested students from communities at large (including low-income, underemployed, displaced employees from other industries, women, youth, minority and disadvantaged groups) and assists them to be competitive for entry-level positions for living wage jobs to support themselves and their families.
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| Students in Honolulu Community College’s ceramic tile program |
According to Nakamura, the median age for CTC students is 34. And although the percentages of female students in the training program is low, “the opportunities for women are just as good as those for men.”
“Twenty-five years ago, we were at 3 percent penetration nationally of women entering the construction industry,” says Nakamura. “Today we are at 3 percent. So the stigma or the image has not been lifted to a degree where women are welcomed into the industry. However, they are entering the industry through engineering, architecture, real estate and the management side of the construction industry. But we do have women who are becoming operating engineers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters. So, the field is opening, and as we reach out to our young students through the Construction Academy that are in the high schools, they will realize that technology has improved to the point where not all of construction is backbreaking labor.”
BIA-Hawaii also offers Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT), a comprehensive program that reaches out to displaced workers, minorities, and anyone interested in entering the construction industry by presenting a general overview of the opportunities and requirements for more than 150 different jobs. The PACT training schedule provides opportunities for non-traditional students to attend evening and Saturday classes, learn from industry professionals and learn skills for jobs that pay a living wage.
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| In January, 36 students from 10 Oahu public high schools attended the first Future Builders of Hawaii Building Competition, an event hosted by BIA-Hawaii (during the Home Building & Remodeling Show). |
Barbara Nishikawa, training director at CTC, recalls one of her finest students, a 33-year-old single mother who was once forced to work two jobs to make a living. One of the woman’s main goals was to spend more time with her son. After discovering the pre-apprenticeship program on the Internet, she sat down with her 10-year-old son and told him what she planned to do: become a union carpenter. “She told her son, ‘Mommy wants to be able to spend more time with you. In order to do that, we need to make some sacrifices right now,’” says Nishikawa.
These sacrifices included 160 hours of training, part-time in the evenings and on Saturdays. And she still needed to keep both day jobs, Nishikawa says. “She definitely had drive, determination and passion. She came to classes every day and worked her two jobs — no matter how tired she was.”
Toward the end of the pre-apprenticeship program, she had the opportunity to apply for the apprenticeship program for the Hawaii Carpenters Union. She scored the second highest on its entry exam, and a few weeks later, she got picked up by a union contractor who put her on her first jobsite, says Nishikawa. Shortly after this, she was able to quit both her jobs, giving her more time to spend with her son.
“Today, she’s doing great. She’s making good money, and she has progressed promotion-wise very quickly!”
Facing the Future
Despite the current labor shortage, PRP’s Chock is optimistic about the future. In fact, he believes that Hawaii “already (has) a strong, talented workforce.” In the next five years, he says, PRP will expand that workforce and make sure that the jobs are available to support it.
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“One thing that will have a major impact on the construction industry is the development of Oahu’s rail transit system, set to begin construction in 2009,” says Chock. “The next major stimulus to construction, the rail transit system is expected to generate from $3 billion to $5 billion in construction, including transit-oriented development, over the next 10 to 15 years. It will be an exciting opportunity to build our future that I’m hopeful talented workers will be drawn to.”
Borgstrom also seems optimistic and says: “In the short term, 2008, there will continue to be a demand for skilled labor as there are projects already under way that need to be completed. The longer-term answer hinges on how deep a recession we get into and how soon do we come out — it is predicted that we will not see a real downturn in the construction economy in Hawaii before 2009. At that point, much depends on what happens with the global economy.”
Nakamura clearly recalls the ebb and flow of Hawaii’s workforce. “In the ‘50s, we had a downturn. My father and all his men went to Guam. In the ‘60s, they went to Alaska. In the ‘70s, they were back here. It was a boom for 30 years.” Nakamura says that despite the current labor shortage, she feels that there are countless opportunities on the horizon for her students. For instance, she says, there’s the rail transit system in 2009. There’s also commercial retail redevelopment happening all over the islands. If that isn’t enough, she says, there is work in Guam where U.S. soldiers from Okinawa have been transferred. “Work for the next 10 years, 20 years is out there. If you want to make a career change, the time is now.”