UTICA, N.Y., Sept. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On September 6, the City of Utica voted to amend the City Code to require all construction contractors and subcontractors – working on projects valued at greater than $250,000 – to have established apprenticeship programs that are approved by the New York State Department of Labor. 

Under the “Apprentice Training Agreements” of Section 2-13-53 (i) of the City Code, contractors will be required to show proof of an approved apprenticeship program. The new ordinance is effective immediately.

"In Utica we want to make sure that when we have a job on City Property it is done by skilled qualified labor, ensuring the best possible outcome for several reasons, including cost savings and liability from sub-par work,” said Joe Marino, Utica Common Council Member (4^th District). “Equally as important however is that we need to ensure that good hardworking families have a home in Utica and can find honest work for an honest wage.  As we rebuild this City, there is no better way to do it than with qualified local labor like those in the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters."

NRCC’s Apprenticeship program in New York, is a 5-year accredited training curriculum that requires individuals to annually complete hundreds of hours in the classroom and more than 1,000 hours of on-the-job training with skilled union carpenters. In the last two years, the NRCC has graduated an average of 50 percent of apprentices who started the program in 2011-2012.

“This is great news for the City of Utica and for young apprentices looking to get the hands-on training and in-class curriculum that they need to operate safely on the job site,” said Dave Haines, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters’ (NRCC) Northwest New York Regional Manager. “The Northeast Carpenters strongly believes in providing both on-the-job and in-class training for our carpenters, so they can earn while they learn and have the chance to build a career with a good standard of living, great healthcare and retirement benefits.”

Apprenticeship specializations include: general carpentry; cabinet making; flooring; pile driving/dock building; millwrights; and trade show. NRCC training centers are located in New York (Elma, Hauppauge, Horseheads, Rock Tavern, Rochester and Albany), New Jersey (Kenilworth and Hammonton), Delaware (New Castle and Georgetown), Maryland (Baltimore, Upper Marlboro) and Pennsylvania (Allentown and Philadelphia).

About the NRCC

The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (NRCC) represents nearly 40,000 hardworking men and women in Delaware and New Jersey and portions of Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. NRCC is one of the largest trade unions on the East Coast. The NRCC equips professional men and women carpenters with the skills, training and quality workmanship that are demanded in today's construction industry. For more information on NRCC, please visit our website: www.northeastcarpenters.org; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NortheastRegionalCouncilofCarpenters; or Twitter: https://twitter.com/nrccarpenters.