Ironworker Local 7 Member Featured in Story About Union Apprenticeships
Ironworker Local 7 member Kloey Arsenault was featured this week in an WMTW storyabout young people getting into the trades through union apprenticeships and the Union Construction Academy of Maine pre-apprenticeship program.
“I wanted to jump right into this, and I grew up in a trades-oriented household. My father is also an ironworker, so I had that kind of childhood where I was able to understand trades from a very young age,” said Arsenault in the TV segment.
Maine AFL-CIO Apprenticeship Director Sam Boss pointed out that the goal of our federation is to raise awareness about career opportunities and help prepare the next generation of workers for careers in the union trades and other union jobs.
“I think there is honestly need everywhere. I hear from apprenticeship directors, from all the different building and construction trades unions we work with, that they're looking for good people,” said Boss.
IBEW 567 Training Director Justin Walsh noted that for years the union had a smaller number of apprentices coming into the program, but with so many retirements the electricians union has been taking in much larger numbers of new apprentices.
“So, we've seen huge growth in the last 3 or 4 years. We're at 155 apprentices right now, which is just amazing. I think 3 or 4 years ago we were maybe like 80. So, we've seen huge growth. A lot of the solar boom has really helped,” said Walsh.