Published by: AGC of America – August 30, 2017
Dive Brief:
Dive Insight:
The reality of the labor shortage is especially daunting as the country gears up for a potentially massive infrastructure program. That has left some contractors wondering how they're supposed to participate when they are finding it difficult to meet current demand.
In June, the president signed an executive order that authorized the diversion of $200 million in Department of Labor job training funds toward apprenticeships. The president expressed a desire to create 5 million apprenticeships in the next five years. Yet Trump's 2018 budget request cuts DOL training and employment service funding by 21% and eliminates $1 million in women's training programs. The president said those cuts would be made up for through the apprenticeship initiative.
Trump also wants to give the private sector more control over apprenticeships and not require them to register their programs with the DOL. Critics have said that could result in low-quality training.
Recommended Reading: Associated General Contractors of America Seventy-percent of contractors have had a hard find finding qualified craft workers to hire amid growing construction demand