National Apprenticeship Week Outreach Event in Linden

Making his monthly appearance on America’s Work Force Radio, Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, talked with AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc about registered building trades apprenticeship programs and National Apprenticeship Week.

Dorsey Hager, C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer

National Apprenticeship Week will take place from Nov. 11 through Nov. 17. It is a week dedicated to promoting building trades apprenticeships through public outreach and many of the C/COBCTC affiliated Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees will be holding their own events.

However, the biggest event will take place at the New Salem Baptist Church. This is the second outreach event as part of the Linden Recreation Center Community Benefits Agreement. The $25 million project to build a new recreation center and upgrade Linden Park is expected to create between 60 and 80 jobs for affiliated members of the C/COBCTC.

This outreach event was designed to help educate men and women in the underserved Linden community about careers in the skilled trades and the benefits associated with these careers.

The conversation turned to Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs or IRAPs. The U.S. Department of Labor has yet to make an announcement regarding either the exclusion or implementation of IRAPs into the construction industry. If there is no IRAP exemption, Hager believes more construction workers will die on the job due to employer greed, lower safety standards and more poorly educated non-union construction workers.

America’s Workforce Radio Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc

While on the topic of apprentices, Hager also talked about a new labor award being given out in Grove City.

Councilman Ted Berry created legislation to dedicate a small amount of funds within the city budget to go towards labor awards. Open to young men and women, who are accepted into a registered apprenticeship program, the award gives anywhere from $700 to $2,100 to qualified individuals in order to help them remain on-track to complete their apprenticeship. The money can be used for transportation issues, childcare, tools, etc.

Click here to listen to the entire interview, including some talk about the upcoming election and the Browns.