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Union Apprenticeships Are More Successful Than Other Programs

Union apprenticeships provide more skilled workers and are more successful at recruiting women and ethnic minorities to the building trades in Massachusetts, a study by the Labor Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts-Boston has found.

The full study, being released Wednesday by the resource center, is based on a comparison of union and nonunion apprenticeship programs registered with the state Division of Apprenticeship from 1997 to 2007.

“We spend over $28 million a year in recruiting and training the best qualified craftspeople in the construction industry, and the results of this study demonstrate that the investment is paying off,” said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, in a statement.

• Apprentices in union programs go on to journeyperson status at higher rates — 81 percent (6,142 workers), compared to 19 percent (1,419) in nonunion programs.