Page 48 - SKILLS Workforce Development Guide 2021

For Students: Profiles of Young Workers
SUCCESS WITHOUT A 4-YEAR DEGREE
Local millennials forge a promising career path that doesn’t include student debt
BY STACEY PFEFFER
These four millennials decided not to pursue four-year degrees — whether for financial or personal reasons — yet they still found satisfying jobs in a tight labor market.
Prior to filling out the application, Lieske was working
at Westchester Tool Rental. The job introduced him to
the construction field and he heard about the union from customers. “I had no idea what unions were at the time. So
I did a lot of research on Local 60 before applying,” he says.
He completed an interview and then a physical for the apprenticeship spot. Lieske was one of 10 people chosen to complete the apprenticeship and initially went to school on Saturdays to learn all about the construction industry. The program consisted of 4,000 working hours to obtain a full journeyman rate, plus 300 hours of classroom training.
While completing the apprenticeship, Local 60 helped place him in a job at Montesano Brothers, a heavy highway, paving, and utility construction company. The skills he was learning in class complemented the projects he was working on, such as cutting steel for the former Tappan Zee Bridge’s demolition and highway paving.
Lieske completed the 4,000 working hours in just two years. “I reached heights that I never thought I’d be able to reach
in my job and I’m still learning every day. The apprenticeship
GERD “ALEX” LIESKE
Construction Journeyman
Alex Lieske remembers the day he went to fill out
an apprenticeship application at Laborers Local 60,
a Hawthorne-based union for heavy construction workers. “I was the eighth person to get an application out of 100.” He considers it a
day that changed his life and career trajectory.
46 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
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