{"id":30933,"date":"2018-06-13T17:51:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T21:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=30933"},"modified":"2018-06-14T10:41:46","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T14:41:46","slug":"recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/","title":{"rendered":"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Union leaders, business owners and educators say that recruiting workers or for the building trades is a challenge, but young people can make a good living if they choose to enter a trade.
\u00a92018 Saratoga Photographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Maureen Werther<\/p>\n

People in the building and trades industry\u2014union leaders, business owners and educators\u2014continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio talked about the need for skilled labor industry-wide. Bonacio Construction, formed in 1988, is a major residential and commercial builder in the Capital Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a challenge for the last 15-20 years getting plumbers, roofers, framers. We\u2019ve noticed in our own company there are way too many people who are in their 40s and 50s and not enough in the 20- and 30-year-old range,\u201d said Bonacio.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying all the time to become more involved in BOCES and two-year community colleges. There\u2019s a large demand, steady work and good benefits. We\u2019re trying to get over a perception hurdle. A lot of kids getting out of high school and going through college believe they\u2019re going to get a great job, maybe designing a video game in a cozy office,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bonacio pointed to the high number of graduates plagued with large student debt that are not finding the kind of jobs they were hoping to find. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many kids come to us who have buried $300,000 or more into their education.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said in the building trades, not only is there a lot of work, but it can be very rewarding and challenging. \u201cThe stereotype of wearing a tool belt and not having a rewarding career is just not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bonacio does have some female project managers, having women in the industry \u201cis not the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a low-paying career,\u201d he added, noting that workers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 annually.<\/p>\n

B.J. Kozlowski, partner with B&B Plumbing & Heating, said he made a decision while in high school to pursue building trades. He currently oversees the HVAC division at B&B.<\/p>\n

Kozlowski said his company hires anywhere from two to four new employees each year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Holly McArthur, guidance coordinator at Warren, Saratoga, Washington, Hamilton, Essex BOCES (WSWHE BOCES), said they recently expanded the high school-level construction trades program to a full-time program because of the need, but also because of the interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She said more high school students may be paying attention to the call for skilled labor and are making the decision to opt for internship programs at community colleges, or apprenticeships with construction companies and labor unions, rather than take on the burden of college debt.<\/p>\n

Previously, BOCES operated one program in the afternoon; but starting in the fall of 2018, they will have both morning and afternoon sessions dedicated to the building trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a waiting list, which is good news,\u201d said McArthur.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are approximately 20 students per session, which has gone up, according to McArthur. Classes are offered in HVAC and refrigeration, heavy equipment maintenance and operation, welding and auto technology. BOCES offers internships to students in their senior year, connecting them with employers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome get hired right after their internships and there are a wide range of starting salaries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tony Bianchini, director of communication for Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Carpenters Local 291, which has 13 local offices between Albany and Plattsburgh said the organization is opening a new training center in Albany at Corporate Circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to get parents and guidance counselors to talk to kids who are good with their hands. This is a good career with great wages and full health care, pension and retirement. There\u2019s no other industries where that\u2019s even offered any more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bianchini said that students come into Local 291 as part of a five-year apprenticeship program, where they learn in class and also in the field as journeymen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey earn while they learn and they\u2019re getting all the skills to be safe and build projects the right way, the first time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are trying to get anyone who wants to be carpenter, dock builder, mill cabinet worker. We have 38,000 members and we are in all of New York state, except New York City, as well as New Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia and four or five counties in Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI\u2019ve always worked for labor organizations,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a noble cause and not enough people know, or they\u2019ve forgotten, why unions are important. Ours has been around for 135 years and our founder pushed for 8-hour work days. We fight for all workers\u2019 rights and we care about putting money in their pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the Albany location is going into its second year of offering six-week, pre-apprenticeships to women interested in exploring careers in the trades industry. If they pass after six weeks, they are eligible to go into an apprenticeship program.<\/p>\n

\u201cJobs don\u2019t have a gender,\u201d he added.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe just had a conference with 300 women carpenters in April. Our goal is to raise the number of women from 2 to 10 percent. In New Jersey, it\u2019s up to 9 percent already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another union working hard to get more people into the skilled trades is Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773, at 37 Luzerne Road in Queensbury. The union has a $5 million, 18,000-square-foot training facility where apprenticeships are offered to dozens of newcomers every year. With 350 active members, it invests about $250,000 a year on training.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson Charron, Local 733 organizer, said while it can be a challenge finding skilled workers to fill the growing number of jobs available, they are always working with high schools, BOCES programs and community colleges to get people interested in welding, HVAC and refrigeration careers.<\/p>\n

In addition to their five-year apprenticeship programs, Plumbers Local 773 offers continuing education programs and an associate\u2019s degree program in partnership with Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maureen Werther People in the building and trades industry\u2014union leaders, business owners and educators\u2014continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades.\u00a0 At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nRecruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Maureen Werther People in the building and trades industry\u2014union leaders, business owners and educators\u2014continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades.\u00a0 At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-13T21:51:46+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-14T14:41:46+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2018\/06\/labor-woes-hc.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/\",\"name\":\"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-13T21:51:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-14T14:41:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal","og_description":"By Maureen Werther People in the building and trades industry\u2014union leaders, business owners and educators\u2014continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades.\u00a0 At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/","og_site_name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","article_published_time":"2018-06-13T21:51:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-14T14:41:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2018\/06\/labor-woes-hc.jpg"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/","name":"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally - Glens Falls Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-06-13T21:51:46+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-14T14:41:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/06\/recruiting-new-workers-for-jobs-in-building-trades-continues-to-be-a-challenge-locally\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/","name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30933"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30936,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30933\/revisions\/30936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}