The Laborers' Apprenticeship Program of the Laborers' Training and Retraining Trust Fund of Northern California is a major contributor to California's flourishing construction workforce. In 2017, 655 apprentices completed a Laborers' apprenticeship program — Construction Craft Laborer (630), Hod Carrier (8), and Parking and Highway Improvement (17).

This number of apprentices is more than twice as large as the prior year's graduating class of 292. Over the last five years, the Laborers' Training Center has journeyed out more than 1,600 members.

Oscar de la Torre, Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) vice-president and Northern California District Council of Laborers (NCDCL) business manager recognizes the hard work these graduates have put in, which led to such an accomplishment.

“With their on-the-job training and countless hours of classroom education, these journeypersons are well-prepared for the construction industry,” said de la Torre. “And the industry needs people like them — dedicated and hardworking. The industry is facing a worker shortage and we are doing all we can with our partner contractors to answer that call.”

To obtain journeyperson status, each of the apprentices must complete 240 hours of classroom instruction and log at least 4,000 hours of on-the-job training. Incoming candidates must pass a drug test, attend orientation, perform in a hands-on skills assessment, and complete an interview to guarantee they are able to meet physical demands of the construction industry.

“The graduates applied phenomenal ability to complete this detailed and difficult program,” said Jeff Armstrong, director of the Northern California Laborers' Apprenticeship Program. “Our apprentices achieve valuable experience in almost every type of construction, and that diversity will help them have long, successful careers.”

The Laborers' Training and Retraining Trust Fund of Northern California is a partnership between the Laborers' Union and its signatory contractors. In 2017, the Laborers' Training Center provided nearly 250,000 hours of training and offered:

• Mobile training that brings training to any work site or location;
• more than 75 courses that meet or exceed industry standards;
• three California-Apprenticeship-Council-approved apprenticeship programs; and
• instructors credentialed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.