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Harris County ARPA grants expanded Houston union apprenticeship facilities; unions report increased training and local hiring
Summary
Presenters told the Labor Committee that the Apprenticeship Advantage program, co-led by Harris County and the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation and funded with ARPA dollars, invested more than $12 million over three years in local training facilities, equipment and outreach to increase apprenticeship access across multiple trades.
Harris County-funded ARPA investments in a local apprenticeship initiative have paid for facility upgrades, new equipment and expanded recruitment, union training directors told the City of Houston Labor Committee on Sept. 18.
"It's been a little over 12,000,000 over 3 years," said Shelly Baker, partnerships and communications director for the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, describing the total ARPA investment that funded the Apprenticeship Advantage program. Baker said the program connects local residents to paid on-the-job training across 10 skilled trades, and that 62% of participants "come from moderate to high vulnerability households." She added that the program has enrolled 908 participants to date and that the average starting hourly rate for new entrants is $22.98, excluding benefits.
Multiple local trade apprenticeship programs described how the ARPA funds were used. Jean Bringmire, training director for the Houston-area joint apprenticeship and training committee for electrical contracting, said grant money modernized…
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