February 10th, 2022
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced the launch of a new apprenticeship training requirement pilot program designed to create a pipeline of new talent into the local building and trade workforce. The program will help strengthen the local economy by training residents for existing good-paying jobs in the construction trades and requiring equity in participation.
Under the new pilot program, construction contractors doing work in Monroe County are required to have access to a New York State Certified Apprenticeship Training Program. Contractors must ensure that a minimum of ten percent of its workers be apprentices for each trade on a project — and 30 percent of apprentices must be made up of minority and/or disadvantaged populations.
“The apprenticeship program is just one way we’re going to have a more equitable and prosperous rebound from the economic hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “This program will build up our local workforce to fill the building & trades jobs needed now, while giving workers life skills they can use to advance their own careers in construction.”
There are four capital constructions projects scheduled for bid this year selected to participate in the new apprenticeship pilot program.
“I am very proud and appreciative to be a part of this new program, being able to work with our Monroe County Executive and his staff on this very important County Initiative. This pilot program will open numerous opportunities for a lifelong career in the construction industry for our unemployed workforce and younger generation here in Monroe County and Western New York,” said Grant Malone, president of the Rochester Building & Construction Trade Council. “Requiring the local contractors to have and support a NYS Registered Apprenticeship Program will not only help them be competitive in the bidding process, it will also help us secure the workforce to meet the demands of the upcoming work so we can help our economy recover.”
“We fully support Monroe County in this effort to advance our community while addressing the shortage of skilled trades professionals. By helping to develop apprenticeship opportunities, the county is enabling careers in good-paying jobs, with strong career advancement opportunities that promote diversity in the workforce,” said Joseph Leone, Executive Director of UNiCON Rochester. “Apprenticeships are the premier ‘earn-while-you-learn’ training model, where workers can learn a craft tuition-free, all while earning a living-wage and receiving benefits that support themselves and their families.”
"The Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Preparation Program (M.A.P.P.) is dedicated to offering the Rochester, New York area, the most comprehensive introduction to and Direct Entry into a Building and Construction Trades apprenticeship program. The program is specifically designed to reach historically disadvantaged populations and create a bridge to success - a staircase out of entrenched Poverty,” said Kereem Berry, Executive Director of M.A.P.P. “M.A.P.P. represents a unique and critically important partner in the necessary work of extending to our target population, who are in and of the community, and seek a career-track opportunity in the wide array of world-class construction trades apprenticeship programs.”
The pilot program complements a new Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which covers three capital construction projects at the Frank E. Van Lare Water Resource Recovery Facility over the next seven years.
The county will save $251,000 through the PLA, which also requires the county provide financial assistance to the Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Preparation Program, an agency enhancing the employability of historically disadvantaged people in the building and construction trades in the greater Rochester area.
