Since 1993, government agencies, unions, training providers, community-based organizations and private businesses have been working together with Port Jobs and its Apprenticeship Opportunities Project to increase apprenticeship opportunities in King County.  One of the primary goals of AOP has been to help women and minorities develop the skills necessary to access liveable wage jobs.  On-the-job and classroom training available through the apprenticeship system provides all interested applicants with a direct link to these job opportunities.  This 1998 update is the third annual report assessing the impact of the apprenticeship policies on the labor market and on construction projects throughout King County.

Since the apprentice utilization policy was first introduced in 1994, 193 public and private projects have been covered by the policy, totaling more than $2 billion in King County construction.  More than 3,900 apprentices have worked an average of 275.8 hours each on those projects.  These hours count toward the 4,000 to 10,000 hours of training apprentices must work over three to five years to complete their apprenticeships.

This study also found that:

• Apprenticeship opportunities were increased as a result of the application of the apprenticeship policy.  For example, the number of hours worked by apprentices and the number of apprentices working those hours more than doubled from 1997 to 1998;
• Demand for apprentice labor has doubled from 1997 to 1998.  The existing apprentice system was able to keep up with demand and as a result increase the percent of labor hours worked by apprentices on covered projects;
• The construction workforce is becoming more diverse.  The share of labor hours worked by minorities has increased over previous years, although the share of labor hours worked by women has decreased slightly;
• Minority women continue to be significantly underrepresented in the apprenticeship system; and
• Apprentices referred to King County apprenticeship programs by AOP are less likely to drop out of their apprenticeship in the first year than are other apprentices in the same trades.

	Port Jobs Staff
	The Experience Music Project (above) and the new football stadium which is replacing the demolished Kingdome (below) are Vulcan projects committing money and work hours to apprenticeship.

Since the apprenticeship policy was first introduced in 1994, 193 projects have been covered by apprenticeship goals, totaling more than $2 billion in King County construction.   In 1998, projects covered by the apprenticeship policy included Safeco Field, the Experience Music Project and Cinerama Theater (see feature on page 1), the World Trade Center, the Tolt pipeline and filtration plant, and the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill.

In 1998, 1,721 apprentices worked a total of 471,661 hours on 87 projects in King County covered by the apprentice utilization policy.  This was 13.4% of all labor hours worked on those projects, an increase of 0.8% from 1997.  27.2% of those hours were worked by minorities, and 14.5% of the hours were worked by women.

	Port Jobs Staff

In 1998, AOP referred 90 people to apprenticeships (an 18% increase over 1997) and 30 more in other family wage jobs.  49% of AOP’s placements were women and 58% of them were minorities.

IS THE POLICY ACHIEVING ITS GOALS?

The purpose of the apprentice utilization policy is threefold:

• To increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities in King County;
• To help women and minorities gain access to these living wage career opportunities; and
• To develop a highly skilled, diverse workforce capable of meeting demand for skilled labor in the region.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Demand for apprentices is expected to continue to rise in 1999 and beyond.  The 1998 study therefore concludes with the following recommendations:

• Increase efforts to recruit and retain women, especially minority women, into construction trades apprenticeships;
• Invest more resources in pre-apprenticeship programs;
• Focus on lowering dropout rates from apprenticeship programs, so that apprentices will stay in their programs, become skilled workers, and make a career in their construction trades;
• Keep working to make apprenticeship more attractive and accessible to a broader range of people; and
• For large projects, hire one person to help contractors meet apprenticeship utilization and diversity goals.