An apprenticeship playbook from Sweenor Builders

Like many building companies, Sweenor Builders is facing the reality of the trades labor shortage. But in 2022, they took action by creating a new apprenticeship program that will bring a pipeline of young workers into the company. By investing in these young people, helping them “learn a skill and start a career,” they’re also strengthening the company ensuring it will have the labor needed to meet client demand for years to come, according to Sweenor’s Chief Performance and Safety Officer, Steve Canter who heads up the program.

The program targets recent high school graduates who are interested in learning the “Sweenor way” — a focus on the highest-quality craftsmanship.

“You have to win over the parents as much as the kids,” Canter said. Many parents still believe college is the only path to a successful career. To help both parents and their kids see the opportunities available in the trades, Sweenor takes a multi-pronged approach to recruiting:

1. An open house targeting students and their parents gives the company an opportunity to both showcase their work and the job being offered.

Tip: Promoting the craftsmanship is as important as promoting the job. It excites passion in the students and helps parents understand that this opportunity is more than just a summer’s worth of work, it’s the start of a skill set that can launch their child’s career.

2. Leveraging social media has a similar effect. It allows Sweenor to promote their work and job opportunities to a broader audience within their community.

Tip: Facebook was a successful social channel for Sweenor because its audience skews older. Parents saw Sweenor’s job posting and passed it along to their children.

3. Outreach to local high schools with Career Technology Education (CTE) programming, which includes a focus on construction technology curriculum, helps as well. “I want to talk to anyone who needs help finding a career and doesn’t want to go to college,” Canter said.

Tip: Get involved in local schools by speaking at career exploration events. Some CTE programs have work-based learning hours. Participation in these kinds of opportunities can help youth become familiar with your company and give you a chance to start identifying good candidates.

Of course, attracting good candidates is only the first step.

Creating a successful structure from the beginning is critical, according to Canter. The eight-week Sweenor program includes a guarantee of 40 hours of paid work plus 4.5 hours of learning time each week.

Tip: Some states, including Rhode Island where Sweenor is located, offer financial incentives to employers who provide work immersion or apprenticeship programs. Check to see if your state offers reimbursement for such programs.

Apprentices are embedded in crews with more experienced employees and sent to work on real job sites. Canter schedules apprentices each week, making sure they’ll be on sites where they can contribute. To pull this off, Canter collaborated with site supervisors and project managers to create a list of always-on tasks that apprentices can start doing on day one. “A job site can always be cleaner,” he said. But the goal is not to just give apprentices grunt work, it’s to begin developing their skill set, which is why there’s a learning component built in.

Tip: Delivering on a promise of full-time work requires purposeful scheduling. It’s important for someone within the organization to own this task and do it in collaboration with project managers and site supervisors.