We promote change to better support workers and families,
to advance education, and deliver safe, quality construction work.
In our ever-evolving world, you can always count on change. New needs arise, new priorities emerge, and new jobs demand different skills. A training program can't keep pace if it insists on business as usual. LIUNA Training is an active, living system that continually grows and promotes change to meet the present and future needs of workers and employers and to advance our agenda of a safe and skilled workforce. We promote change to advance quality jobs and a safe and skilled workforce. Here are just a few successes that altered the face of workforce training and impacted the laborer's craft.
for Construction Craft Laborers, changing the perception of our trade
Apprenticeship is the best foundation to grow a skilled and safe workforce, yet the Construction Craft Laborer (CCL) did not have an approved program. As the construction trade advanced to include ever-more complex jobs and technical tasks that required sophisticated skills, the need for apprenticeship grew more urgent. We developed standards and worked with the Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) to establish CCL as a registered, apprenticeable trade. BAT approved our guidelines in 1994, validating the importance of this craft training. We immediately implemented programs and services that helped initiate recognized apprenticeships throughout the nation. Since then, we have grown to nearly 100 LIUNA apprentice programs offering core and specialty skills training for new workers who want a chance at a good career with diverse opportunities.
being the first to develop CCL and industry specialty skills standards
for use in curriculum development. Before we did so, there were no consistent standards for what skills different CCL jobs demanded. We researched industry jobs, identified CCL tasks, and determined what a worker needed to do and know to competently and safely perform the job. Workers, industry experts, and employers provided input and helped refine the skills standards. LIUNA Training incorporated the findings into competency-based training programs like pipe laying, concrete, and hazardous waste worker. We even developed professional standards for workforce training instructors. Our students benefit because they learn real skills for real jobs. Even today, few craft training programs build their curriculum on specific industry standards. Going forward, we continue to insist on high standards and verifiable skills for all training, setting the model for current and emerging worker certifications. Our most recent successes established nationwide standards for LIUNA trained weatherization technicians, supervisors, and energy auditors.
Other minority and disadvantaged worker training programs had a reputation for failure because they didn't connect training to employment, nor did they incorporate necessary life skills directly into training programs (the importance of being on time, how to dress, etc.). In creating our program, we admitted only those who wanted to be trained and required the same discipline and behaviors that future employers would demand from their workers. We incorporated employability skills training, addressed barriers to success, and focused on training for in-demand jobs with solid career opportunities. Training for short-term low-wage jobs or ones that don't exist in their marketplace sets workers – and training programs - up for failure. We included support programs and added construction language training to help immigrant and limited-English speaking workers succeed in training and on the job. We included employment assistance, working with employers and LIUNA Locals to increase job placement and retention. Today, we place over 75% of our graduates, and other institutions replicate our programs.