Union labor apprenticeships competitive with college
ILEPI-UIUC study lauds vocational training as ‘tuition-free alternative’
A new study praises joint labor-management apprenticeships in the construction industry as a “tuition-free alternative to college,” offering vocational training to fill positions in an industry in need of fresh labor. (Shutterstock)
By Ted Cox
A new study out of the University of Illinois praises union apprenticeship programs as a “tuition-free alternative to college,” especially in the construction industry.
The study, “The Apprenticeship Alternative: Enrollment, Completion Rates, and Earnings in Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Illinois,” was released Monday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institue and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
It finds not only that joint labor-management apprenticeships — in which unions partner with construction firms needing fresh labor — not only provide more hours of training than a two-year associate degree at a community college or a four-year bachelor’s degree at a state university, but they also lead to a higher average mid-career wage, at more than $40 an hour.
“Every year, thousands of Illinois residents enroll in apprenticeship programs as a tuition-free alternative to college,” said study co-author and ILEPI Policy Director Frank Manzo IV. “Including up to six years of classroom instruction and on-the-job training, these programs play a vital role in producing workers with in-demand skills for today’s economy, and give participants the extraordinary opportunity to earn while they learn.”
On average, the apprenticeship programs offer far more hours of training than a college or university, and are competitive in graduation rates at 54.2 percent, compared to 65.6 percent at Illinois community colleges and 61 percent at state public universities. While a university graduate typically makes more fresh out of school, $26 an hour compared with just over $19 an hour for associate-degree grads and graduate apprentices, those laborers make more at mid-career — $40.40 an hour, on average, compared to $35.28 for a university grad and $25.77 for a community-college grad.
While university grads make more over the course of their careers, $2.49 million on average, construction laborers are again competitive, earning $2.4 million over the course of a career, a difference of about $80,000. Holders of associate degrees earn far less, $1.85 million.
The study, however, drew stark contrasts between joint labor-management apprenticeships, in which unions partner with construction firms, and “employer-only” programs administered by companies or trade associations on their own. From 2000 through 2016, the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Labor, joint programs comprised 97.5 percent of all Illinois apprentices, and had even higher minority enrollment. Some 98.5 percent of women, African Americans, and Hispanics enrolled as apprentices in Illinois were in joint union-management programs. Again, they offered more training hours, a higher graduation rate, higher starting and mid-career salaries, and higher lifetime earnings than employer-only programs, and it wasn’t close. Graduates of joint programs made over $1 million more than graduates of employer-only programs, who made on average $1.36 million.
“Joint labor-management apprenticeships are clearly the best-in-class model, and are far outperforming employer-only programs on every available measure,” said study co-author Robert Bruno, a UIUC professor and director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal. “In fact, the data show that joint construction programs are delivering a more robust training regimen than other post-secondary institutions, and equal or greater lifetime earnings for their graduates.”
“J
oint construction programs are delivering a more robust training regimen than other post-secondary institutions, and equal or greater lifetime earnings for their graduates.”
Professor Robert Bruno (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
A news release touting the new study pointed out that “more than 85 percent of all apprenticeship enrollment in Illinois is in the construction sector, making the industry’s apprenticeship system one of the state’s largest privately financed post-secondary institutions.”
It added: “The total number of active apprentices in Illinois has grown by 34 percent since 2011. While most apprenticeships are concentrated in historically male-dominated industries, such as construction, manufacturing, transportation, and wholesale trade, the U.S. Department of Labor data show that graduates are increasingly reflecting the racial diversity of Illinois as a whole.”
By 2017, joint construction programs were graduating a share of African Americans and Hispanic participants (9 and 11 percent) on par with the state’s public universities (10 and 12 percent) — and graduated a greater share of African Americans than the state’s private nonprofit universities. Joint construction programs have also had significantly higher completion rates for African Americans, Hispanics, women, and military veterans than employer-only construction programs.
“The state’s largest joint labor-management apprenticeship programs are helping more Illinois workers access ladders to the middle class — particularly from historically underserved communities,” Manzo said. “With many industries still reporting labor shortages, policymakers should work to extend these programs to more in-demand occupations, and address stigmas and other barriers that can discourage workers from pursuing vocational training.”
Many legislators in the General Assembly have stressed that the state shouldn’t concentrate just on higher education, but should also emphasize vocational training for those with no inclination to continue on to college after high school. The study endorses that, as Manzo and Bruno backed what the news release called “expanded development of pre-apprenticeship coursework at public high schools and community colleges, expanded access to child care to boost female participation in these programs, and promotion of a new state tax credit for businesses that invest in apprenticeship training.”
“A registered apprenticeship program is a great alternative to college for Illinois’s youth,” the study states. “In particular, the unionizedconstruction trades have rigorous programs with training hours, graduation rates, and competitive pay that rival four-year universities in Illinois. Education pays, but so does a registered apprenticeship program.”