Back To The Greenawalt Foundation Press RoomThe ART of Growth and Success: A Contractor’s Guide to Apprenticeship Partnerships
By Mike Greenawalt, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Greenawalt Foundation
The construction industry faces a workforce crisis, with the Department of Labor reporting a shortage of 500,000 workers. For every two journeymen who retire, only one enters the field, and 40% of newcomers leave within 24 months.
Mike Greenawalt, who began his career as an IBEW apprentice in 1979 and rose to CEO of Rosendin Electric Inc., one of America’s largest employee-owned electrical contractors, argues that overtime and bigger incentives are not sustainable fixes. Instead, he proposes the ART strategy: Attract, Retain and Transfer knowledge.
Attract requires contractors to engage students as early as sixth grade, partner with school districts and educate counselors about apprenticeship pathways that lead to $60,000 to $80,000 careers without student debt.
Retain calls on contractors to give apprentices the same thorough onboarding provided to college interns, select quality mentors, track progress like a critical project metric and celebrate performance at every level.
Transfer focuses on pairing apprentices with journeymen who naturally gravitate toward teaching, rotating apprentices across crews and project types and using technology such as AI-powered training modules to multiply knowledge transfer capacity.
Greenawalt encourages contractors to treat apprenticeship partnerships as strategic investments, with leadership participating in advisory boards and measuring recruitment and retention with the same rigor applied to job profitability.
How can construction companies address the skilled labor shortage without relying on overtime and increased incentives?
The Greenawalt Foundation’s ART strategy, which stands for attract, retain, and transfer knowledge, offers a sustainable solution to short-term fixes like overtime and bigger incentives. This framework addresses each stage of the workforce pipeline, treating apprenticeship partnerships as strategic investments tracked with the same rigor as job profitability. By implementing all three stages consistently, contractors can build long-term workforce solutions rather than short-term patches.
What are the best ways to develop the next generation of construction leaders from within the craft workforce?
The Greenawalt Foundation stresses that apprentices are not just future journeymen but also future foremen, superintendents, estimators, project managers, and CEOs. Contractors who provide clear career mapping before anyone steps on a job site and track apprentice progress like any other critical project metric see the strongest results in developing internal leadership. History proves that skilled craft workers transition well into leadership roles, but only when contractors invest in retaining them long enough to develop their full potential.
Which strategies improve apprentice retention rates in the construction industry?
The Greenawalt Foundation recommends giving apprentices the same thorough orientation provided to college interns and mapping career possibilities before they step on a job site. Contractors that schedule regular check-ins, celebrate achievements, and communicate consistently about career paths see the strongest retention results. This approach directly targets the industry-wide problem of 40 percent of newcomers leaving within 24 months.
How can construction companies attract younger workers to skilled trades careers?
The Greenawalt Foundation recommends engaging students as early as sixth grade, when children have begin forming opinions about careers. Contractors can sponsor construction summer camps for middle schoolers, build relationships with high school shop teachers, and partner with apprenticeship programs on joint marketing efforts. Educating school counselors about apprenticeship pathways that lead to six-figure careers without student debt turns them into powerful recruitment allies.
What alternatives exist to a four-year college degree for building a high-paying career?
Registered apprenticeship programs offer paid training that leads to $60,000 to $80,000 careers without student debt, making them a strong alternative to a four-year college degree. The Greenawalt Foundation points out that while universities graduate thousands of engineers each semester for a limited number of project management roles, companies struggle to fill apprentice positions that offer direct paths to employment. Paid learning programs that guarantee employment give individuals the chance to earn a living wage from day one.
How does knowledge transfer impact workforce development in the construction industry?
The Greenawalt Foundation identifies knowledge transfer from journeyman to apprentice as the industry’s heartbeat, creating personal mentoring relationships that build skills across generations. The current workforce crisis stems from losing knowledge holders twice as fast as the industry creates knowledge seekers, with federal guidelines requiring a 1-to-1 journeyman-to-apprentice ratio rarely being met in practice. Smart contractors use AI-powered training modules and equipment vendor partnerships to multiply knowledge transfer capacity while preserving the personal mentoring relationships that make apprenticeships effective.
How can contractors build a sustainable construction workforce pipeline?
The Greenawalt Foundation advocates for weaving attraction, retention, and knowledge transfer efforts directly into the business planning process, treating workforce development the same way companies approach safety or project management. Contractors should sit on apprenticeship advisory boards, attend program meetings, and track workforce metrics with the same rigor applied to job profitability. Companies that measure what matters, from recruitment numbers to retention rates, stay ahead of an industry that is evolving faster than most realize.
What long-term impact will the construction labor shortage have on the industry?
The construction industry faces a shortage in the hundreds of thousands of workers, and the Greenawalt Foundation warns the crisis will not pass soon and will eventually affect all contractors. With only one new entrant joining the field for every two journeymen who retire, the gap widens each year. Contractors who fail to invest in apprenticeship partnerships risk staffing shortfalls during critical project phases that directly impact timelines and profitability.
How can construction companies compete with other industries for skilled talent?
The Greenawalt Foundation notes that while tech companies and universities invest heavily in recruiting talent, construction contractors have largely left recruitment to apprenticeship programs rather than leading those efforts themselves. Contractors can match that investment by building relationships with school districts, hosting information sessions, and showcasing career pathways that lead to six-figure incomes without student debt. The perception gap between trade careers and college degrees creates a competitive opening for contractors willing to change the cultural narrative around skilled trades.
Which technologies are transforming workforce training in the construction industry?
The Greenawalt Foundation identifies AI-powered training modules and equipment vendor partnerships as key tools for expanding knowledge transfer capacity across the construction industry. These technologies allow contractors to multiply training opportunities while preserving the personal mentoring relationships that make registered apprenticeship programs effective. When combined with structured crew rotations that move apprentices through different teams and project types, technology helps close the growing gap between retiring journeymen and incoming apprentices.