Q&A: Shannon Sampson

Continued from page 19 been a nagging problem in Rhode Island for years, he added, but when the demand for home renovations soared in 2020, the pandemic provided a solution of sorts to the shortage.

As many restaurants and hotels shed staff, some newly jobless hospitality workers turned to construction.

“Waiter turned painter; we’ve seen this happen. A lot of new people came into the construction trades,” Marcantonio said. “Whether they’ll stay [is anyone’s guess].”

He estimated that during the pandemic, the number of people who registered with the state as a contractor was double its normal volume.

“Usually about 70 to 80 contractors per month come in, and roughly the same number might retire, but during the pandemic it was up to 120 or 130 coming in per month,” Marcantonio said. “Now the numbers are leveling off.”

Building Futures, a pre-apprenticeship training program that partners

with the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, is seeking to provide a long-term solution to the need for skilled labor.

The nonprofit trained students through the pandemic, although classes were cut by half to allow for social distancing. Now, Executive Director Andrew L. Cortes can’t wait to return to full class size.

“We try to target how many people we train [based] on the market demand,” Cortes said. “Now that the industry is really ramping back up and we have a reduced class size, we could place more than what we are training right now.”

The program aims to place a minimum of 30 graduates in jobs annually.

An apprenticeship-utilization program, which incentivizes companies to hire Building Futures graduates and first-year apprentices, is in place at most major work sites across the state, Cortes added. The program, created in 2007 by Building Futures to funnel young workers into the state’s construction industry, requires 15% of the work on projects over $5 million to be performed by apprentices.

Currently, Building Futures has apprenticeship-utilization agreements spread among $462 million in projects across the state, and is anticipating future agreements on projects totaling $1 billion, Cortes said.

“Times will be good for Rhode Islanders who are looking for new careers in construction,” he said.

According to the DLT, the construction industry now employs 21,500. That’s a 3.3% increase over the 18,200 construction jobs at the same time last year.

Although the numbers reflect a thriving industry, Marcantonio cautioned that quantity needs to be tempered by quality,.

“Training is by far the industry’s biggest issue,” he said.

APPRENTICESHIPS

To that end, a $4 million federal grant announced in June will fund Building Futures’ Apprenticeship FORWARD project, a partnership with the DLT.

Grant funds will also be used to create an incentive program for employers who hire Building Futures graduates.

In addition, the money “will provide technical assistance to register 625 new apprentices over the next four years,” Cortes said.

The grant will also support businesses looking to create new apprenticeship opportunities.

Training within companies is one way to respond to scant numbers of skilled workers, Lamontagne said.

“We are seeing a bit of a shortage in subcontractors,” he said.

Still, the trained labor shortage is not new, and most businesses are able to work around it, Iannuccillo said. “The work right now for infrastructure and school building projects is coming in at a good … pace,” he said. “

Shannon Sampson

Allied Painting Inc. industrial bridge painter

1. Now that you’ve been on the job for a short time, do you think that the program properly prepared you to work in con-

struction? Absolutely. Building Futures’ pre-apprenticeship taught me the mechanics of the work – it taught me how to lift properly. It taught me how to use tools. The program gave us information about each trade but not specifics. It didn’t go into depth about bridge painting, the apprenticeship I joined. But I gained a good overall understanding of what I was stepping into. The five-week training was physically demanding, the way it is on the job. … For most of my life, I gave my power away. This experience has taught me to take my power back in a positive way.

2. Were you at all hesitant to seek a job in an industry that still

has relatively few female workers? Going into something new and unknown can be a little nerve-wracking. I knew, being a woman, that I was going to have to do more to gain the respect of my co-workers. Some men have a perception that a woman on the job site is weaker or isn’t capable of doing the job. I have found big satisfaction in going on the job site and showing these men that, yes, I may be a woman, but I am as capable, if not more. It’s a motivator; it pushes my drive to want to be the best I can be.

3. What do you think employers and the state should do to

make the industry more welcoming to women? It would be more

Shannon Sampson began working for Allied Painting Inc. in July, shortly after completing a pre-apprenticeship program at Building Futures, a Providence-based, nonprofit partnership. The 32-year-old Cranston resident was working at an eye doctor’s office before deciding to move to construction. She says working in the industry has increased her confidence and opened her eyes to her own problem-solving skills. QA &

PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM welcoming if there were more women on the job site. I think if it were more of a known option for women, more women would step out. I don’t know how many other programs there are like Building Futures.

4. What benefits does the industry offer that might be appeal-

ing to younger workers? A pension and an annuity, health insurance and the pay altogether mean I can do this work and be self-sufficient. I care about having that financial security down the road. Especially with society today – a lot of jobs don’t have pensions. It’s either 401(k) or nothing. A lot of employers don’t give health insurance. Or if they do, it’s not a good plan.

5. Are you planning on making construction a career?

Absolutely. I like working with my hands and staying busy. I tried the office route. I worked for an eye doctor. I’ve done some housecleaning and other jobs. Going through Building Futures showed me how much I love working with my hands. Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.