Leadership of the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA) has joined other national trade associations at the White House for a Presidential event on workforce training. As part of the event, SWACCA pledged that it would provide at least 50,000 people career training opportunities over the next five years through the joint labor-management training programs that SWACCA members help to fund with their union partners. This pledge was part of an announcement made by the President to provide pathways to better careers for 500,000 Americans.
“We appreciate the priority that the President and Secretary of Labor Acosta are placing on expanding the benefits of privately-funded apprenticeship programs and skills training beyond the unionized construction industry,” says SWACCA president, Matt Townsend. “These efforts are critical to ensuring America has the workforce it needs and that our young people and veterans have the opportunities they deserve. SWACCA’s member companies are committed to the registered apprenticeship programs and advanced journeyman training conducted through joint labor-management programs. These programs enable our members to deliver services to our customers and empower our workforce to develop careers in commercial construction that offer good pay, benefits, and upward mobility.”
SWACCA was represented at the White House event by SWACCA Board Member Tom Clerkin, president of Ceilings Inc. of Norristown, Pa., and Ricky Estis, a carpenters apprentice from Toledo, Ohio, employed by OCP Contractors (a SWACCA-member company).