On Friday, Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa hosted a graduation ceremony for 226 apprentices. The graduates completed 576 hours of classroom training and 8,000 on-the-job training hours. ABC of Iowa finished the year with more than 1,340 apprentices.
Through ABC of Iowa’s program, students are taught proper safety courses and specific skills in the areas of electrical, plumbing, HVAC, sheet metal, millwright, insulation, laborer and electronic systems.
“We’re proud of the hard work and dedication of these graduates and look forward to seeing how they continue to be successful in their trades,” said Ginny Shindelar, ABC of Iowa’s vice president of education and training.
In the U.S., there will be 6.1 million jobs in the construction industry by 2021 and 1.5 million craft professionals will be needed to fill them. These highly trained workers are in serious demand.
“ABC’s apprentices receive rigorous training, safety instruction and hands-on learning, and most graduate with little to no debt,” said Greg Spenner, president and CEO of ABC of Iowa. “We’re proud of the work our member firms and education staff are doing to close the skills gap here in Iowa.”
ABC of Iowa has training centers located in Grimes, Davenport and Hiawatha and offers 19 remote sites throughout the state. They continue to be Iowa’s largest construction industry apprenticeship training program.
