I was encouraged to seek out a formal carpentry apprenticeship at the Southeast Wisconsin Carpentry Training Center (SEWCTC) by a union carpenter after three years of working as a laborer and carpenter’s helper. That carpenter explained to me that I was not getting anywhere working for small contractors that could not provide me with benefits, let alone a structure for learning the trade.
My apprenticeship journey began with completing a series of general competency tests held at SEWCTC. The tests mostly focus on math, and SEWCTC provides assistance in the form of tutoring for anyone who needs it. Once the future apprentice passes the tests, they receive a "letter of intent to employ" from SEWCTC that the apprentice needs to have signed by a company that employs union carpenters and apprentices. The union maintains a list of all these companies. I sent out a resume to every company on the list and after about a month of follow-up calling, I had my letter signed by a commercial interiors company that also did residential window installs.
The apprenticeship is structured as a four-year program with 6,240 hours of on-the-job training, 400 hours paid of related instruction, and 200 hours of unpaid classroom instruction taking place at SEWCTC over a 12-week-long session during the four years. Included in this instruction is a basic welding course, Red Cross First Aid, and CPR training.
Over my career, I have met and worked with many carpenters who have completed apprenticeships, and while many of their experiences were different, the structure of program was consistent. My personal experience was shaped by the talented old-school carpenters I worked with in the field and learned under at SEWCTC.
At the time I attended, SEWCTC was unique among union-sponsored carpentry programs in that the instructors all had come from the residential end of the trade. This group of instructors prided themselves in turning out carpenters who were not only competent in the metal stud and drywall work, or the concrete work that commercial construction is known for, but were also able to frame a roof and build stairs. One instructor was fond of telling us that if we could not build a deck for our home or weren’t able to build a set of stairs for our neighbor, then we were not carpenters.
Over the 12 weeks of schooling at SEWCTC, we studied jobsite math, builder’s level/transit, concrete formwork, floor and wall framing, stick-frame roof building and design, stair building, interior trim, door and window installs, door hardware, and blueprint reading.
Skills training vs. task training. After years in the field, I see that this approach was not an outcome- or task-based approach but a skills-driven approach. We learned the skills needed to produce desired outcomes in a variety of commercial and residential carpentry situations. I believe that the workforce issues we see today stem from our product delivery systems being focused on short-term outcomes. This has led trades to rely on specialization, efficiency, and cheap labor.
We need well-rounded carpenters, not task-focused installers. SEWCTC, during my time of attendance, was focused on the outcome of producing well-rounded, competent carpenters. Granted, the training center's business model is different; it is not producing work on a retail level, but the instructors know that the union is only as good as the apprentices they turn out. This applies to all the building trades, especially to carpenters and lead carpenters whose boots are on the ground.
Whether he or she is part of a union company or not, every tradesperson today has an opportunity to do a tremendous service to the trades by adopting a long-term outlook—a perspective that recognizes we are only as good as the workers we bring along to follow in our footsteps. Our legacy as carpenters is not just the work we produce, but also the people we bring in and nurture to do their own great work. This is how we sustain a rich tradition in the building trades. Without it, we are merely surviving, going along from one boom-to-bust cycle to the next, rather than fulfilling our life’s work and the work of generations to come.
