Labor, management and community came together in Madison on Thursday to train workers, promote job openings and create good jobs in the local community. The Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin partnered with the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP/BIG STEP) and was supported by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the South Central Federation of Labor for a skills training and recruitment event for an upcoming construction projects.
Members of the South Central Building Trades were on hand to provide information on apprenticeships, journey worker opportunities and the varies skills needed for bricklayers and allied crafts, electricians, elevator constructors, heat & frost insulators, iron workers, laborers, operating engineers, cement masons, painters and allied crafts, plumbers, sheet metal workers and sprinkler fitters. The Trades Council supplies professional, skilled and experienced manpower to contractors to suit their needs on a continuing basis providing solid career opportunities for thousands Wisconsinites in the process.
"Building Trades Unions have a long history and culture of quality training through apprenticeship and continuing education. Our training programs are developed and managed through partnerships with our contractors to provide the highest skilled workforce to ensure that we are able meet the expectations of our industry and our customers," said Steve Breitlow, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin. “Also, union trades men and women earn a family supporting wage, health insurance benefits and a pension. By working together our members and contractors produce safe building projects that come in on time and are cost effective. The recruitment event with WRTP/BIG STEP in Madison opened the door for men and women looking for work in the community to join us on the job.”
WRTP/BIG STEP is a non-profit workforce development organization whose mission is to assist Wisconsin’s manufacturing and construction industries in developing a skilled, competitive, and diverse workforce. Supported by public, private, and philanthropic investments, WRTP/BIG STEP works with the employers and unions to identify potential workforce needs and implement efforts to recruit and develop current and future workers, through education, training, mentorship, and leadership development. WRTP/BIG STEP is recognized as workforce development leader, and a central partner to the growing the economy.
WRTP/ BIG STEP often partners with local unions such as the Building Trades, Steelworkers or Machinists to provide industry-specific job training.
“What happened in Madison on Thursday was an example of union, contractor and community partnerships coming together to ensure that workers have information for upcoming projects that will provide good, family-supporting jobs in the community and boost the local economy,” said Rhandi Berth, Vice President of WRTP/BIG STEP. “We had attendees from youth to highly skilled journey workers. When all of us work together – unions, employers and community – workers win, companies win and the local economy gets a needed boost.”
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO along with the South Central Federation of Labor used outreach networks and member organization to help promote the recruitment event so that workers were aware of this unique job recruitment and job training opportunity.
For more information on upcoming events visit WRTP/BIG STEP at http://wrtp.org/.
Great work by both Big Step and the Building Trades. Congratulations on the event
Posted by: tom gasperetti | 01/20/2014 at 08:17 AM