National Apprenticeship Week recognized by Washoe County Commission and Reno and Sparks City Councils

This week Washoe County Commissioners and Reno and Sparks city council members issued proclamations in recognition and support of apprenticeships in Northern Nevada to honor #NationalApprenticeshipWeek. It’s important to us to spread the word about the benefits of registered apprenticeship—to jobseekers, families, business owners, and the future of Nevada’s workforce.

Registered apprenticeships are a strong workforce development tool that helps build healthy communities. We appreciate this support from our local representatives!

National Apprenticeship Week 2019 Starts Today

Apprenticeships are the foundation of lifelong careers in construction. They’re also the foundation of everything we do and build in Northern Nevada. They provide free training and good-paying careers for thousands of Northern Nevadans, and they provide a valuable workforce pipeline for Nevada’s growing construction industry.

Join us this week to recognize, celebrate, and spread the word about the importance of apprenticeships to Northern Nevada’s workforce—and check out this great list of the Top 7 benefits of apprenticeship from the Northern Nevada Apprenticeship Coordinators Association!

2019 Women Build Nevada Career Exploration Fair

Women make up less than 10% of the building and construction trades nationwide, and even less in Nevada. To help build awareness in Northern Nevada about great careers for women in construction, our local trades affiliates are excited to partner with the Northern Nevada Apprenticeship Coordinator’s Association to host the 2019 Women Build Nevada Career Exploration Fair on Friday, November 15 at the TMCC Pennington Applied Tech Center. Bring a friend and check it out, it’s free!

Learn more at http://www.womenbuildnevada.org

Nevada's Building Trades Out in the Community

We’re four weeks into fall and Northern Nevada students are settling into their classes, which means prime season for trades education events!

On Friday, October 18 our union building and construction trades affiliates set up pop-up trades shops at Reno-Sparks Convention Center for Construction Career Day 2019. More than 1,000 students got to spend part of their day learning about careers and apprenticeships in the local building and construction trades, and tried their hands at everything from virtual painting and welding to beam climbing to working the jackhammer.

Then on Sunday, October 20, affiliates came out to support the 2019 Education Alliance of Washoe County’s Run for Education—which was a blast! We talked to families and educators about the benefits of earn-while-you-learn career training programs in construction, and were inspired by how many people took part in this truly wonderful event to support education.

We’d like to extend our thanks to all of our trades affiliates who hosted, sponsored, or helped out at these events, and to our community partners who host and help with events that enrich the lives of Northern Nevada youth. Thank you!

Northern Nevada's Building Trades on Nevada Newsmakers

Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada's Business Representative Rob Benner talks shop with Nevada NewsMakers' Sam Shad about the development boom east of Reno, changing the narrative of careers in the trades, the coming exodus of Nevada's construction workers as they reach retirement age and cash in on their union retirement plans, and the push to attract new tradespeople to fill those gaps to keep up with growing demand.

"We're looking at a demographic time bomb...our average construction worker is about 50, and most construction workers retire in their 50s, so we're looking at about 50% of our construction workers here in Nevada retiring in the next 10 years."

Victories for Nevada's Union Building Trades in 2019 in the 80th Nevada Legislature

Collective bargaining. Prevailing wage. Apprenticeship. Nevada's labor unions, and especially the union building and construction trades, earned major wins in the 2019 legislative session—thanks in large part to a massive get-out-the-vote campaign, and the support labor put behind union members running for office across the state.

"We have a lot of our friends here. And when I say 'our friends,' I mean us. Look down your list of legislators and see how many of them are union members now.

Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Visit the Operating Engineers Local 3 Training Facility

We had a lot of fun today at the Northern Nevada Operating Engineers Local #3 apprenticeship training facility with the kids from Boys & Girls Club of the Truckee Meadows!

This is the first of four hands-on building trades apprenticeship program tours for B&G Club kids. They'll also visit IBEW Local 401, Laborers International Union of North America Local 169, and Ironworkers Local 118 Apprenticeship training facilities. There were lots of smiles today! We love showing these kids how much fun careers in the building and construction trades can be.

Northern Nevada Apprenticeship Spotlight: HVAC Service Technician

“Be a plumber—they get rich,” said Shark Tank’s notorious straight-shooting millionaire Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, in a CNBC “Make It” feature last month. “Everybody has to have a plumber, even in a recession.”

O’Leary was speaking to the misconception that anyone who wants to make a lot of money needs to go to college. Not so, says O’Leary—and anyone who’s ever been or known a master plumber, whose salaries can reach into the six digits. And most of them get there without the crippling student debt that plagues college graduates for decades after earning their degree.

Northern Nevada’s registered union apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades provide not just free but paid college-level education and state-of-the-art, high-tech career training in the classroom and on the job, with the opportunity to earn concurrent college credits from a local, accredited community college—also free—while in the program. Apprentices start earning above-average wages on day one, receive a full benefits package after one to three months, and graduate out-earning most of their college graduate counterparts.

But this gem of a career track goes unnoticed by many—including students, parents, educators, and legislators. So today we’re kicking off a new monthly series to highlight apprenticeship-based careers in the Northern Nevada building and construction trades. And we’re starting with a career track that’s both, shall we say, hot and cool: HVAC Service Technician with the UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 350.

Read more over at buildingtradejobs.org.

2019 Apprenticeship Day at the Nevada Legislature—A Success!

On April 23 we gathered tradesmen and tradeswomen from around Nevada to join us for our first-ever Apprenticeship Day at the Nevada Legislature. We wanted lawmakers to hear first-hand how apprenticeships change lives and build careers, and how they’re an economically-viable answer to a strong skilled workforce in Nevada.

Those lawmakers went on to pass a critical apprenticeship bill a month later, and Governor Steve Sisolak signed it into law this week. Thank you to everyone who supported the bill, and those who came out to talk about apprenticeship!

Read more about Apprenticeship Day at the legislature and watch the video here.

80th Nevada Legislature Delivers Critical Wins to Nevada's Union Building & Construction Trades

State lawmakers act on mandate from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak to expand workforce development and labor-friendly legislation in the state

Nevada’s historic 80th legislature adjourned last week after 120 days of deliberation and debate on more than 1,000 bills—passing nearly 500 of them. Among those that passed were three important bills for Nevada’s union building and construction trades. All three bills, which have now been signed into law by the governor, are exciting first steps toward increasing and improving the skilled labor pool in Nevada’s construction workforce.

AB136
Introduced and carried by Nevada State Assemblyman Jason Frierson, Assembly Bill 136 corrected prevailing wage cuts made by state Republicans in 2015. Those cuts set prevailing wages for school construction projects to 90% of established prevailing wage, raised the threshold for projects from $100,000 to $250,000, and made charter schools exempt from prevailing wage laws. The 80th legislature reversed those cuts, ensuring that all public school construction workers on projects of $100,000 or more will receive 100% of local prevailing wage.

Why it’s important: AB136 directly impacts Nevada’s construction workforce, putting more money in the pockets of the hardworking men and women that build our public schools. That money not only benefits current construction workers, it increases interest in building and construction careers, which a) helps address shortages in the construction workforce, and b) improves the quality of candidates, which raises the standards of school construction for everyone.

SB207
Introduced by Nevada State Senator Chris Brooks, Senate Bill 207 requires contractors award public works projects to employ one or more apprentices for a minimum percentage of the total hours worked on those jobs, and requires contractors to enter into apprenticeship agreements for all public works projects in the state of Nevada.

Why it’s important: SB207 increases the overall number of apprentices working on public works projects in Nevada, which boosts the benefits and impacts of registered apprenticeship programs in the state and their contribution to the overall development of a skilled workforce in Nevada.

SB231
Introduced by Nevada State Senator Chris Brooks, Senate Bill 231 eliminates language intended to discourage public entities from hiring or awarding tax abatements, financial grants, or exemptions to contractors with labor unions agreements. That language, implemented in 2015, negatively impacted Nevada’s registered apprenticeship programs and undermined the state’s skilled labor market.

Why it’s important: SB231 struck anti-worker and anti-union language from legislation surrounding public works projects, which strengthens project labor agreements, increases the state’s skilled workforce training programs and retention, and keeps more construction dollars in the community.