“As a proud, pro-union governor to my core, I am thrilled to celebrate the opening of the MRCC’s state-of-the-art center in Detroit that will train up to 1,500 Michiganders and help them land good-paying, high-skill union jobs,” Whitmer said. “Michiganders rely on carpenters, millwrights, floor layers, piledrivers, and all our skilled trades to build the infrastructure that powers Michigan’s economy. Their hard work is the reason that since I took office through the end of this year, we will fix over 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, build or refurbish nearly 12,000 affordable housing units, and replace tens of thousands of lead service lines."
“The opening of this state-of-the-art training center right here in Detroit shows the commitment of carpenters and millwrights to preparing the best construction professionals and creating good-paying Michigan jobs,” said MRCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Tom Lutz. “This new training center — built without any taxpayer dollars — represents a gateway to a promising future for countless men and women willing to learn and work hard in a rewarding, good-paying career."
The sprawling facility houses classrooms and training areas for hands-on experience and real-world simulations. Students will study and train in an apprenticeship program designed and taught by the carpenters and millwrights union, which currently has more than 14,000 members across Michigan. Enrollment in the apprenticeship program is free, and students incur no debt for their education. Those who join MRCC’s apprenticeships also get good wages, health care, and pension benefits while they learn.
The MRCC is a partner in Detroit’s job creation program and has pledged to triple the number of Detroit residents in the union’s apprenticeship program by ensuring that 25 percent of all incoming first-year apprentices are Detroit residents over the next decade. MRCC and its contractor partners fund all aspects of the apprenticeship program, including the construction of the new center.
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“Skilled trades careers are a brotherhood and sisterhood of professionals who strive to be the best, look out for each other, and rebuild America, Michigan, and our neighborhoods from the inside out,” said Doug McCarren, General President of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. “Carpenters and millwrights represent the future, and this training center will help thousands of residents in Detroit and beyond get access to the best training around so they can be part of a brighter future.”
“Businesses and companies in the construction industry are looking for the best trained, best educated, best-prepared workers around, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights’ new training center in Detroit is an exciting opportunity for men and women to get that education and training for good-paying careers,” said Donna Pardonnet, Executive Director of the Architectural Contractors Trade Association of Michigan.
Highly trained skilled trades professionals are in high demand in Michigan, and experts anticipate the current shortage of such workers to continue well into the next decade. Skilled trades professionals such as carpenters and millwrights account for more than 500,000 jobs in Michigan.
