Committee hears broad support for apprenticeships and refers summer‑works/pre‑apprenticeship resolution to full council

Summary

A broad group of workforce providers, union and city staff told a Portland City Council committee that pre‑apprenticeship programs and summer youth employment are critical to building a diverse local construction workforce; the committee amended and referred a resolution to full council to prioritize funding and reporting.

Portland's Labor and Workforce Development Committee on Tuesday heard testimony from workforce boards, trade unions, pre‑apprenticeship programs and city staff about the need to preserve and expand funding for pre‑apprenticeship training and youth employment. The committee then amended and forwarded a resolution that calls for prioritizing summer work and apprenticeship navigation funding in the city budget and requests annual reporting on program outcomes.

Workforce leaders urged continued investment. Andrew McGough, executive director of Work Systems Inc., described registered pre‑apprenticeship programs and subsidized work for low‑income youth as essential building blocks to meeting regional construction demand and improving long‑term earnings for participants. McGough said construction is a regional labor market and that a 'graying' workforce and large upcoming projects will increase demand for trained workers. He recommended protecting pre‑apprenticeship and youth employment funding through the upcoming budget cycle.

Project administrators and trades supported stronger pipelines. Greg Johnson, administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR), described outreach with regional partners and said the project will generate thousands of construction jobs over…

Committee hears broad support for apprenticeships and refers summer‑works/pre‑apprenticeship resolution to full council

Summary

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