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Building trades praise district workforce agreement, urge better follow‑through on pre‑apprenticeship
Summary
Union representatives reported strong local‑hire numbers on district projects and urged better conversion of pre‑apprenticeship certificate holders into registered apprenticeships, telling the board a recently run pre‑apprenticeship has yielded only about 20% applications into the IBW apprenticeship program.
Representatives of the Inland Empire building trades told the San Bernardino City Unified School District board on May 19 that the district's Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) is producing local hiring but that more must be done to move students from pre‑apprenticeship classes to paid apprenticeships.
Benjamin Pratt, vice president of IBW 477 and the Inland Empire Building Trades Council, told the board the trades have attended many district career events and celebrated an upcoming cohort graduation for a local pre‑apprenticeship program. "This gives them a direct interview and gets them right in," Pratt said of the certificate program's advantage for graduates seeking apprenticeship interviews.
Albert Darty, a union business manager, said project data showed the agreement's local‑hire percentage exceeding the original 50% goal; he cited a current local‑hire rate of about 68% on projects he tracks and emphasized the need to increase female participation on trades teams.
The problem, Pratt and Darty said, is follow‑through. Pratt said roughly 20% of students who complete the IBW pre‑apprenticeship certificate actually apply to the IBW apprenticeship — a gap he and union leaders want the district and counselors to help close by directly recruiting students with suitable academic records and by emphasizing pay and benefits.
Board members pressed for more precise outcome numbers; Pratt said the most recent count showed about nine active apprentices who originated from the program and roughly 15 pre‑apprentice trainees working full time but not yet in school. Trustees encouraged the unions to continue outreach with counselors and CTE staff.
Why it matters: The CWA covers construction work on district projects and aims to expand local employment and workforce pathways for students. Union leaders said stronger conversion from school programs to paid apprenticeships would deepen the district's economic impact.
Outcome: The board listened and asked for follow‑up; no board action was taken at this item.
