Recruiting skilled, reliable plumbing employees is getting more difficult by the day. I know all about this because I operate a technical trade school with locations in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
The bill seeks to reauthorize the 1937 National Apprenticeship Act, which established the registered apprenticeship system, for the first time since its inception 84 years ago.
Newsflash: The United States is facing a skilled trades labor shortage. Unless someone has had their head buried under a rock the past few years, most Americans are aware of this ongoing problem.
Many characteristics today associated with registered apprenticeships — progressive wage increases, mentorship and safety standards — are not part of the 1937 law; they have instead been included in subsequent U.S. Department of Labor regulations. These provisions and more would be codified into the new federal law, as well as expanding apprenticeship programs through authorization of $400-$800 million in new grant funding.
On Sept. 4, Carhartt unveiled a larger-than-life installation of 1,670 hard hats to represent 1.67 million job openings across construction, manufacturing, mining, logging, transportation, trade and utilities.
