Page 23 - SKILLS - 2023

and skillful talent, why would they? The New York State Department of Labor projected that jobs for building craft workers will grow by 12.7% over the 10-year period through 2026. For example, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters will grow 20.5%, and early career opportunities as helpers in the construction trades will scale up 16.1%, earning $36,000 per year.
Most of these careers pay good living-wage incomes of $50,210, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as a national average. Closer to home, the average income for a carpenter in New York State is $70,700; a journeyman electrician earns $81,740
annually, and a journeyman
plumber earns $83,410,
according to the state
Department
of Labor.
workforce: an unwavering commitment to the construction industry that the country is once again serious when it comes to infrastructure renewal. New York State itself responded a year later with passage of the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act to pay for local projects to protect communities and rehabilitate and improve public facilities across the state.
Local trade and industry organizations like the Construction Industry Council and the Building Contractors Association, which represent more than 400 contractors and specialty companies, are constantly
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The tradesmen and women who work predominantly on public works projects such as roads, bridges and water can earn equivalent amounts. As of May 2023, the average annual pay
for an Operating Engineer Union in New York is $85,414 a year; a Teamster in New York earns $73,955 a year; and the annual income for a Laborer was $44,000 at the median and $55,710 up at the top end, according to the New York Department of Labor.
“The road to becoming a journeyman equipment operator, a carpenter, an iron worker, a field laborer or a driver of construction
working to expand the ranks
of qualified skilled labor. With many veteran tradespeople close to retirement age, the
CIC offers scholarships and reaches out to young people
to raise their awareness of the opportunities that come through apprenticeship training.
“The road to becoming a journeyman equipment operator, a carpenter, an iron worker,
a field laborer or a driver of construction vehicles is very well- traveled and it is clearly marked for those with ambition,” said Dominick Montesano, president of Montesano Bros., Inc., a leading construction company headquartered in New Rochelle, NY. “Working in construction is
a lot like being part of a baseball team; young people are trained
vehicles is very well-traveled and it is clearly marked for those with ambition.” —Dominick Montesano, President of Montesano Bros., Inc.
As impressive as these annual income levels can seem— especially for someone starting out in a career—the lure of healthy and steady paychecks is only as good as the promise society makes to back up those promises with steady employment for skilled workers and technicians. When the demand for a trained workforce is strong, wages will remain high.
Fortunately, this is exactly what young people moving into the trades can expect over the coming decade. The passing of the Federal Bipartisian Infrastructure Law
(BIL) in late 2021 was the jolt that the American society
and economy has needed for a long, long time. Following decades of patchwork repairs and neglected facilities,
New York State cities and towns are lining up to tap the federal resources that BIL now makes possible to get public works going across the nation. This $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure law earmarked $13 billion in funding for New York State public works projects for things like controlling pollution, upgrading clean water and drinking water facilities, and fixing our roads and bridges.
At the same time, it sent a larger message to the coming
to think on their feet when it’s their time to shine because every job is different. Each job, like each at bat, has its own set of challenges to solve. In the end, we work as a team to get the job done and come away winners together. It’s a great feeling.”
Montesano, who serves on the CIC’s Board of Directors, said the association attracts young people to the industry in two ways. CIC offers scholarships to encourage high school graduates to pursue STEM curriculum, and CIC strongly supports public awareness campaigns along with organized labor to promote apprenticeships and careers in the building trades, he explained. “As the construction industry becomes more technically driven, young people are trained to operate the heavy construction equipment used on road, bridge and utility projects with toolboxes that now rely on lasers and laptops where once there were mainly shovels, rakes and sledgehammers. Technology has modernized the worksite and made it more efficient, and in so doing, made crew members more valuable. That’s a formula to build bright futures for young people who are searching for lasting, meaningful and lucrative careers.”