Study Confirms Value of Construction’s Jointly Trusteed Apprenticeships

A new U.S. Department of Labor-commissioned study affirms the benefits of jointly trusteed registered apprenticeship programs in the construction trades. 

The study concludes: 

1. the construction industry trained more apprentices than any other industry from 2019 through 2022 and joint labor-management (union) programs trained 70 percent of all construction apprentices;
2. joint-labor management construction programs had a 56 percent completion rate compared to 46 percent in employer-only construction programs; 
3. joint labor-management programs graduated 87 percent of women, 80 percent of military veterans, and 75 percent of Black apprentices in construction; 
4. in construction, workers from joint labor-management programs earned exit wages of $38 per hour, while those from employer-only programs earned $25 per hour; 
5. exit wages from joint construction programs were between $36 and $39 per hour for white, Black, Hispanic, male, female, and veteran construction workers; 
6. the states with the highest apprenticeship exit wages for union journeyworkers were Massachusetts ($45 per hour), Illinois ($44 per hour), and Hawaii ($40 per hour); 
7. prevailing wage laws statistically increased construction apprenticeship wages by $3 per hour; and
8. “Right-to-Work” laws statistically decreased apprenticeship.

Click here to download the study. – SWACCA