Recruitment and Retention in Sheet Metal: A study

By / Jessica Kirby

A study from the Institute for Construction Employment Research is turning heads in the sheet metal industry with figures that provide deeper clarity about recruitment and retention in the trade.

The State of Registered Apprenticeship Training in the Construction Trades, available for cost at apprenticebook.com, is the first study of its kind because it tracks and analyzes both state and federal data.

“In the United States, the federal government uses the RAPID system to track registrations to federally monitored programs,” says Mike Harris, administrator at the International Training Institute (ITI). “States that are not regulated by the federal government use state apprenticeship agencies, each of which has its own tracking system. This study combines all of it.”

The State of Registered Apprenticeship Training focuses on apprenticeship training between 2015-2021 and attrition and retention rates based on registrations between 2010-2016, which were tracked through December 2021.

It measures data in areas for which the construction industry has traditionally lacked reliable tracking numbers and breaks it down by trade. This includes completion rate percentage, union versus non-union (jointly sponsored versus non-jointly sponsored), and attrition. That data is further categorized by gender, minorities, veteran status, and other demographics.

“There is a ton of information about registered apprenticeships in that time period,” Harris says. “The plan is to redo the study every so often, and it will be interesting to see the reality of the situation. This study backs up some of the information we have about the sheet metal industry, but some of the information we have held to be true has not panned out.”

By the Numbers

Completion percentages, for example, vary significantly. The ITI tracks completion rates by requesting this information from training center coordinators. “What the study showed for that time period—and it is just a snapshot of one apprentice cycle—is that the numbers were lower than we believed,” Harris says.

“There are some interesting trends and some things we need to look at and benchmark moving forward, especially with initiatives like BE4ALL, which encourages us to be more inclusive and open in our recruitment avenues.”

According to Harris, highlights in the study that are most relevant to SMACNA and SMART are completion rates, the number of regulated sheet metal programs at the Department of Labor, and how many are union versus how many are not.

“This is an important number to look at and monitor to see if we are gaining or losing ground against non-signatory,” he says. “The data on ethnicity and minority status are important to look at as we move into the future to see and gauge whether inclusion initiatives are moving the needle, since it will take time to see the fruits of our labor.”

Potential for Partnerships

Alan Seidman, executive director at SMACNA of Southeastern New York, attended a presentation on the report and says the disparity among trades and retention rates over time stands out among the data. “I think it is concerning that retention rates are so low,” he says. “People change jobs and careers, yes, but to see apprenticeship regulation have a 40% completion rate and retention under 4% is scary and disappointing. We need to figure out how to not just fill seats with bodies but also retain people.”

SMACNA Southeastern New York works with Local 38 and the Local 38 training center on recruitment initiatives, understanding market demand, and developing ways to attract qualified applicants to the trade.

“We have hours-long labor-management meetings in which have discussions about the program, its benefits and successes, what isn’t working, and what the ongoing needs are,” Seidman says. “We also review the training center program together every quarter.”

Mike Keon, training coordinator at the Local 38 training center, is familiar with the report and believes there are opportunities for the local to work with SMACNA on retention and recruitment practices. Local 38 reports a consistent 85% retention rate, which Keon attributes to a pre-apprenticeship program and high-quality teaching in the school.

“From talking to other coordinators in sheet metal and even other trades, like pipefitters, iron workers, and electricians, we are similar in our numbers and success,” he says. “Union trades are offering apprentices a better pathway to a career, to the middle class, and into retirement.”

He says the Local gets full support from SMACNA contractors, who donate materials, sit on joint boards as trustees, and actively work with the union to pursue common goals.

Together they brainstorm ideas, not only for attracting apprentices to the training program, but also for creating succession in union and SMACNA membership.

“We think about how we can get apprentices to buy in, because they are our future,” Keon says. “Other locals and trades get the turnout at meetings with incentives. I’d like to do that to get them to buy in and want to be a part of it.”

Seidman sits on boards for several trades, including carpenters and iron workers, and says most trades have better success retaining apprentices that have been pre-screened. He also says recruitment programs aimed as students in their final year of high school may be missing the mark as are programs that ask applicants to have experience in a related skill or trade, such as welding.

“We need to collectively, as an industry, work on earlier recruitment,” he says. “We don’t want people to use this trade as a fallback—we want to show people that this is a worthwhile career chouse and an opportunity to be proud of the work you do while earning a great living with excellent benefits.”

“We should also be including parents and families in these conversations because no parent’s goal is to have students go to college and come out with debt and not-great opportunities.”

Working for Retention

Key to meaningful cooperation is all parties being responsive to changes in the labor market and the skills and technologies that are in demand at any given time. Keon points to instances where the ITI has brought training to the workforce through Strikeforce Training in response to contractor needs.

“If need we need something from the contractor or the contractors need something from us, SMACNA, SMART, and the ITI are well-equipped to help with whatever we might have coming down the road.

“It s important to have a good relationship with contractor representatives because at the end of the day, we need each other, and that relationship to be there.”

Policy for the Future

The State of Registered Apprenticeship Training in the Construction Trades report is authored by Dr. Cihan Bilginsoy, professor emeritus, University of Utah, and Dr. Russell Ormiston, associate professor, Allegheny College.

According to the authors, assessing the outcomes associated with registered apprenticeship training programs has long been problematic.

“Data collection processes across states and programs have not historically been standardized or consistent,” says the report. “Combined with incomplete and incorrect data in some jurisdictions, these issues have significantly complicated analyses attempting to compare outcomes across trades and jurisdictions.”

This, in turn, has created obstacles in benchmarking program success and shaping industry-level and policy-making efforts to best support the workforce sustainability and development efforts in the construction sector.

“The process of analyzing data has revealed that Registered Apprenticeship Training is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of a growing US construction sector,” Dr. Bilginsoy says. “However, there are clear distinctions and lessons in the data about what is working best and about the workforce supply challenges facing specific trades.”

“Registered apprenticeship programs are the lifeblood of the American construction industry; however, there have been obstacles that have historically made assessing outcomes particularly challenging,” says Dr. Ormiston. “By resolving many of these data problems, this report offers an accessible way to understand how different programs and trades are faring in meeting this industry’s workforce needs and will be an important benchmarking and policy tool for construction stakeholders going forward.”▪

Jessica Kirby is editor-publisher for Point One Media, a small but sturdy family-owned trade magazine creator representing some of North America’s best construction associations.