Wisconsin PHC Contractor Winter 2018

Industry
NEWS
STATE PLUMBING APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEE UPDATE
The State Plumbing Apprenticeship Advisory Committee
met this fall and reported that local committees are now
accepting both the Accuplacer and ACT score for applicants
to apprenticeship programs. Federally, there is a strong push
for apprenticeships and PHCC National has been at the table
for these discussions. Still, much of the emphasis, at least in
terms of where the dollars are going, is into programs other
than the building trades.
The number of plumbing apprentices now exceeds 1,200,
more than double the number of apprentices in training
in 2013. Year over year, the increase in the number of
apprentices has exceeded double-digits in each of the past five
years, with a nearly 14 percent increase this past year. The
average age of a beginning apprentice is now 25.9, largely
unchanged over the past 10 years. The percentage of women
and minority apprentices are also largely unchanged over
the past 10 years, with women making up 1 percent of the
apprentices and minorities about 6 percent. The number of
veterans in the apprenticeship program has increased from
about 2 percent in 2008 to more than 5 percent in 2018.
34 The Wisconsin PHC Contractor SUMMER WINTER 2018