N.C. Apprenticeship Building at the State Fair
As never before, there is a need to promote skilled trades as career opportunities in the emerging North Carolina economy. The shortage of people in trades that require manual skill, precision and experience is now more severe than ever.
U.S. Department of Labor officials say the nation’s construction industry alone will need to fill one million new jobs this decade. The agency has started an initiative to get more young people interested in the trades. The government’s message: You do not need a four-year college degree to make good money.
Like the construction industry, manufacturing is also at a crossroads. According to the recently released 2005 Skills Gap Report, produced by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), there is a serious shortage of qualified manufacturing employees in the United States.
A group of industry leaders formed The North Carolina Partnership Inc., a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization that will oversee the funding campaign and construction for the N.C. Apprenticeship Building at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. State Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry currently serves as the board president.
This facility can be used to host various events such as skilled trade demonstrations, ongoing promotions, recruiting fairs, safety and other training provided by the N.C. Department of Labor. Its main priority will be to enhance the promotion of skilled trades as career opportunities to the younger segment of our population.
This facility also will host the annual apprenticeship contests during the N.C. State Fair. These contests are now held in a tent on the state fairgrounds. The current arrangement sometimes poses safety hazards and limits our ability to secure expensive equipment to sponsor additional events. It also limits our ability to promote the importance of skilled labor for our state economy. A new facility would allow us to market skilled trades as an invaluable asset and would also allow us to expand the contests to trades in manufacturing and services.
There are five contests held every year at the N.C. State Fair. Those contests are for masonry, plumbing, electrical, carpentry and HV-AC/R. Apprentices in those five trades come from all across the state to complete a project designed by the contest committees. Each project is judged according to criteria established by the committees (i.e., adherence to building code standards, productivity, accuracy, attention to detail, safety, proper use of hand tools). The top 10 winners receive cash awards, as well as donated prizes. The bricklaying contest has been in existence for 51 years. The electrical, carpentry and plumbing contests have been held for an average of 19 years. The HV-AC/R contest was begun in 2004. A new facility will also offer the apprenticeship program the opportunity to increase the number of contests from five to at least eight.
Once the facility is constructed, it will become an asset of the state and will be maintained by the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
Click here to see plans for the proposed N.C. Apprenticeship Building.
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