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The Stockton Record

By Bruce Spence
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, October 22, 2005

Phillip Mannor, pondering his future from the perspective of a high school junior, said he wants to learn a skilled trade.

"I want to make something with my hands," he said, seconds after he had soldered his first plumbing-pipe fitting. "It makes more sense to me."

That's the sort of thinking skilled-trade leaders want to hear, especially those who organized a career fair Friday that drew about 120 students from nine area high schools -- Edison, Escalon, Franklin, Lincoln, Linden, Lodi, Stagg, Tokay and Calaveras.

Representatives from 14 construction trades were at the electrical union training center in north Stockton to woo students to become apprentices.

They plied the youths with hot dogs and let them dabble, under supervision, with cement, air-duct crimpers and welding torches.

They spoke of a beginner's cradle-to-journeyman training and work experience, starting at 60 percent of top-scale wages, with 5 percent raises twice per year throughout the apprenticeship.

They hope the educational fair, the first of what is planned to be annual demonstrations/sales pitches, will better inform local youngsters about opportunities in the area's construction industry.

"We need more," said George Lozano, an apprentice instructor with Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 442. "There's a building boom right now, and there's attrition from baby boomers retiring."

That union has 100 apprentices now in its five-year training program and could easily use 50 to 60 more, said Bill Whitman, Local 442's training coordinator.

To that end, the local is building a new training center in Salida that will be three times the size of the existing Stockton facility, he said.

The local has 400 working members, with 300 "travelers" -- union members who come from outside the area, Lozano said.

"If we were doing all the work out there, it would be twice that."

In an opening presentation, Dave Thomas, business representative for the Building & Construction Trades Council, told students the benefits of being a skilled worker are many, such as pay ranging from $22 to $35 per hour, health-care coverage and pensions.

But if you want a construction career, he said, you need to be willing and able to work in Valley heat and be on time.

"That's one of the most important things in construction or anywhere else -- be on time, every day," Thomas said.

To get an apprenticeship, students also need a driver's license and a clean driving record, as well as a dependable vehicle to get to work, he said.

"And you gotta be drug-free," he said. "You will not work anywhere for very long if you're not drug-free."

He also used the "M" word. For some trades, such as electrical, metalworking and plumbing, students need some proficiency -- C-level work -- in math, including algebra, Thomas said.

"In the Valley here, we've got more work than we've ever had, and it's going to continue like that for a long time, because this is where it's happening," he said. "This is where the growth is."

Don Merrill, apprentice consultant for the state Division of Apprenticeship Standards, said that the number of active apprentices is up statewide, to more than 76,000 from about 35,000 in 1983.

More are needed, though, because of the large numbers of skilled workers who will retire in coming years, he said.

Joe Richardson, apprenticeship coordinator with the Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California, said that because of an explosion of work, Carpenters Local 25 wants not just more apprentices but higher-quality applicants. Trainer Whitman said that in a recent apprenticeship entry testing, only one in 11 passed the math section.

Richardson said that many high schools simply aren't aware of the various apprenticeship opportunities for students.

"We're looking to do this annually, and we want to bring in more schools," Richardson said.

The fair, staged by the San Joaquin Area Apprenticeship Committee, offered information on careers and needed skills, and recommended high school preparation courses.

Edison High construction teacher Dave Del Porto said the fair was a good way to tell students about job opportunities.

"I tell them, but it's not the same as when they see it in real life," he said. "These programs are fantastic."

Lodi High School student Charles Bernard said he's interested in college as well as training for a skilled trade. He's just unsure yet what track to take."I want to have a good job -- and a steady job," he said.

Edison High School senior Veronica Pantoja, one of the few female students in attendance, said working in a skilled trade would truly be cool.

"It would be boring stuck in an office all the time," she said.

Event sponsors included the Builders Exchange of Stockton, Building and Construction Trades Council of San Joaquin County, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne & Mariposa, Panelized Structures Inc., J.R. Simplot, Stockton Unified School District and the San Joaquin & Calaveras Counties Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee.

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