Category Archives: Building Trades

By Paul Post

In the 1989 baseball classic, “Field of Dreams,” a mysterious voice tells character Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), “If you build it, they will come.”

 These days, Kinsella might have a hard time finding the help he needs as a nationwide labor shortage continues to impact the building trades industry, a problem that’s especially acute in the Greater Capital Region.

 “There’s not nearly enough bodies to fill the openings,” said Chris Dudley, a heavy equipment instructor at the WSWHE BOCES center in Hudson Falls. “All the big employers like DA Collins and Peckham Materials are really hurting for heavy equipment operators, truck drivers and laborers. State, county and town highway departments are reaching out to us, looking to hire kids directly out of high school. They’ve never had to do that before. Everybody’s really having issues.”

 There are so few truck drivers that the state recently lowered the age for obtaining a Class A commercial drivers license from 21 to 18, allowing more young adults to drive tractor-trailers.

 A recent U.S. Labor Department study says there were 7.6 million unfilled trades jobs and only 6.5 million people looking for work.

By Christine Graf

At a time when local contractors are struggling to find qualified skilled trade workers, Local 773 Plumbers & Steamfitters has at least 40 qualified applicants anxious to join the union’s five-year apprenticeship program. 

The union represents more than 450 plumbers, pipe fitters, steam fitters, refrigeration fitters, and service technicians in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties. The local headquarters is in Glens Falls.

“I am seeing no shortage, and I know that I can recruit the people I need because we pay a living wage,” said Mike Jarvis, business manager at Local 773. “People see that they will have a future with us. They know they will be treated right.”

Despite being overwhelmed with applicants, Local 773 has been able to accept just three people into the Glens Falls apprenticeship program so far this year. Jarvis expects that number to top out at six, with an additional three apprentices likely to be selected from another large applicant pool in Plattsburgh where the union has its second location, he said.

Expanding its apprenticeship program will be possible only if the union is able to secure additional signatory union contractors. 

In recent years, Jarvis and Brian Kill, business agent at Local 773, have been working to attract contractors from the residential and light commercial sectors. 

By Christine Graf

As the skilled labor shortage reaches an all-time high, educators and trade professionals are working to eliminate the widespread perception that vocational training is not a viable career paths for students of all academic levels. 

While a four-year college degree costs an average of $127,000, a trade school degree averages just $33,000. Although college graduates earn an average of $16,900 more than those working in the skilled trades, the pay gap is shrinking as companies pay higher salaries to fill open positions in various trades.

Data provided by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that workers with trade school training are slightly more likely to be employed than those with academic credentials. They are also more likely to be working in their field of study and less likely to be burdened by crippling college debt. The amount of student debt in the U.S. has surpassed $1.73 billion.

According to Mike Martell, assistant business manager at IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) 236, students and their parents no longer believe that college is the only option. 

Curtis Lumber has partnered with several local companies in the construction industry to help graduating seniors at WSWHE BOCES and Questar III BOCES in Career and Tech Ed programs. 

Curtis Lumber has spearheaded an effort to provide over 250 tool bags filled with some starter items in support of graduating seniors at  those schools who will be entering the workforce in the areas of  construction, heavy equipment, HVAC and welding. 

Participating companies include Belmonte Builders, Bennett Contracting, Callanan Industries, DeGraff Bloom Customer Builders, DA Collins, Hoosick Valley Contractors, Malta Development, Munter Enterprises, North Atlantic State Regional Council of Carpenters, Otterbeck Builders, Teakwood Builders, Trojanski Builders, Turner Construction, Weyerhaeuser, and Witt Construction.

The tool bags will be given to the students through the middle of June. 

“The trades are in desperate need of labor,” said Doug Ford, vice president at Curtis Lumber. “We wanted to do something to show our support and appreciation for students embarking on a career in the trades.”

The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES has named Dr. Turina Parker as the new WSWHE BOCES district superintendent and chief executive officer.

Parker has been assistant superintendent for educational and support programs for the WSWHE BOCES. She is set to begin her official duties as district superintendent on Aug. 16.

She replaces James Dexter, who is retiring in August after 12 years of service to WSWHE BOCES. 

“Dr. Parker has demonstrated the ability to lead and work cooperatively across the region,” WSWHE BOCES President John A. Rieger said. “We are confident that Dr. Parker will build on our successes, fulfill our strategic plans, and provide a vision that will take the organization to the next level and provide even stronger support and opportunities for the education of our children and the school districts that we serve.”

With a career spanning 20 years, Parker is an experienced school district leader, with a passion for leading and supporting schools. She previously served as Director of Day Treatment and Principal at St. Catherine’s R. & E. May School in Albany, where her experience also included serving as the coordinator for curriculum and assistant principal. 

She has served as assistant superintendent for educational and support programs for the past 14 years, including serving as principal for special programs, executive principal, and executive director for educational and support programs. 

By Christine Graf

The nationwide skilled trade labor shortage has reached critical levels as baby boomers continue to retire. Baby boomers make up the majority of the skilled trade workforce, and there aren’t enough qualified younger workers to take their places, say people in the industry.

An estimated 31 million skilled trade workers retired in 2020, and many of those jobs remain unfilled. Sixty-two percent of companies report that they struggle to fill skilled trade labor positions.

“Ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day. We have to bring in the next generation to fill those jobs,” said Dr. Jonathan Ashdown, dean of science, technology, engineering, and math at Hudson Valley Community College. “We’re doing everything we can at Hudson Valley to meet the demands for today in terms of helping to solve the skills gap issue.”

Local union representatives for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 236 in Albany and UA Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773 in Glens Falls report that their apprentice programs are in high demand. Both unions have long waiting lists for their multiple-year programs.

According to Mike Martell, assistant business manager at IBEW Local 236, they typically have hundreds of applicants for the approximately 50 spots that are available in their apprenticeship program each year. Union apprenticeships are typically in high demand because union jobs offer above average pay and benefit packages. Local 236 apprentices earn a starting wage of more than $17 an hour and receive an excellent benefit package.

HVCC plans to build a new $65 million facility for skilled trades education. The proposed 130,000-square-foot Applied Technology Education Center (ATEC) will allow the college to expand its training of the skilled technical workforce. Although the college continues to expand capacity, long waiting lists remain for many of their most popular programs.

By Jill Nagy

Area businesses are taking different approaches to deal with a shortage of skilled workers in the building trades.

Mr. Electric of Queensbury runs ads year round on several online help wanted sites. Eastern Heating and Cooling has a well-established apprenticeship program in order to “grow our own.” 

Jim Curran Electric in Saratoga Springs is a situation where the owner was rescued by a son who, seeing his father “overwhelmed,” relocated from Virginia to join the company.

Electricians are busy. “There is an avalanche of work,” according to Fred Giardinelli of Eastern Heating and Cooling. “Nine out of ten companies will give you the same answer: it’s “almost impossible” to find qualified people. 

Curran reported that he is “too busy to train somebody in the proper way.”  Mr. Electric also is “extremely busy.”

Curran, for his part, has soured on the idea of trying to hire and train new people.

“I used to try to hire people,” he said, “but they were not skilled enough.” 

People hired as apprentices often did not show up. At the other end of the spectrum, “if they get too trained, they go out on their own.”

He has been on his own for most of his 33 years in business. Since March, his son Jeff, a licensed electrician in Virginia, has been working with him and will soon become a partner in the business. Jeff and two other sons all worked with him as kids, he recalled, but the other two are following other career paths.

By Christine Graf

Queensbury native Ashley Cirelli was working in the restaurant industry before joining the apprentice program at UA Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773 in 2015. She is one of more than 450 members of the Queensbury-based union.

“I was working in the restaurant business, but there was no stability. You can make great money, but there’s no retirement or health insurance unless you get it on your own,” said Cirelli whose family has  owned several local restaurants including Cirelli’s Jam ‘n Eggs in South Glens Falls.

After learning about the excellent pay and benefit packages available to union apprentices, she decided to apply to the electrician apprentice program at UA Local 236 in Albany. Her plans changed after a chance meeting with Larry Bulman, director of legislative and political affairs for the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, that took place at her parents’ restaurant.

After he told her about the career opportunities available to her as an apprentice at Local 773, she applied and was accepted into the program. In August 2015, she started working at GlobalFoundries as a union apprentice. For her, the job was a perfect fit.

“I’ve been very hands-on my entire life. I helped my dad fix cars when I was young, and I used to build computers” she said. “I always wanted to do something in the trades and almost got into the military. But in high school, I was always told you need to go to college no matter what.”

Cirelli did attend college for 18 months after graduating from high school in 2007. She took business management and marketing classed at SUNY Adirondack but never completed her degree.

Although there is an aptitude test that all apprentice program applicants must take, no special skills are required in order to get accepted into the program.

“You don’t have to have any mechanical inclination at all. Your schooling is hands-on training. They teach you from the very basics of how to turn a wrench all the way up to the advanced skills,” she said. “And as soon as you sign the paperwork, they get you working. You work five days a week for at least 40 hours a week, and you go to school three nights a week for five years.

“You are earning a living while going to school, and they are paying for the school. The only thing you have to pay for is union dues and books. Other than that, they pay for everything. ”

By Christine Graf

After graduating  from University of Albany in 2005 with a degree in business administration, Waterford-native Jamie Wallace applied for a summer youth intern position at Grace Chapel in Jonesville.

“I thought it would be a fun way to spend my summer before I looked for full-time career after college,” said Wallace.

He enjoyed the job so much that he applied for a permanent position as the church’s youth pastor. Despite his lack of experience in ministry, he was hired with the condition that he agree to be mentored. At the time, he was working on Saturday’s for Clifton Park Chimney Maintenance, a company owned by Andy and Jill Looker. Wallace took the job to earn extra money to supplement his youth pastor’s salary.

“I did not even know chimney sweeps existed, so it was very new to me. But I really enjoyed it,” he said.

A year later, with encouragement from the Looker’s, Wallace left his job and started his own chimney sweep business.

“I decided to take a big leap of faith,” said Wallace. “A lot of people said I was crazy, but I went out on my own. My goal was to use the biblical principles I had learned and apply them to the business. And I was right.”

When Wallace started Chimney Heroes (originally named Saratoga Chimney Sweeps) in 2010, he relied on word of mouth, networking groups, and what he refers to as guerilla marketing to find “customers for life.”

“I was waking up at 5 a.m. and doing neighborhood flyers. It was slow going and it was hard, but it worked,” he said.

By Jill Nagy
In the late 1990s, when acquisitions fever was high, a group of venture capitalists made an offer to Fred Giardinelli, owner of Eastern Heating and Cooling, a thriving company that does work throughout the Capital District, including the Glens Falls and Saratoga areas: They would buy his company, but he would continue to operate it.
He accepted the offer, as did enough other business owners, to form a 12-company conglomerate that is now Comfort Systems USA, a national company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that has some $2.1 billion in annual revenues.