138 new apprentices sign on at Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 400 signing day

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 400 and the Mechanical Contractors Association of North Central Wisconsin recognized a record 138 first-year apprentices at a signing day event last week, the largest class in the organization’s history.

“With the amount of people that are hitting retirement age, we really need more young people stepping up,” said Doug Dokey, business manager for the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 400. “To have 138 new apprentices want to do this and the amount of people that are here today that are interested in the Local 400 as well, it’s huge for us. It’s our future.”

Over the next five years, the apprentices will attend classes at the Local 400 and get on-the-job experience — debt-free and getting paid while building the skills they need for a successful career.

“It means a lot, the experience we’re going to be able to get throughout the next five years,” said Edward Anderson, a new apprentice from De Pere. “We’ll be able to work with men and women that all share the same passion we do and most importantly we’ll work safe and efficiently. We’re all going through the same schooling and have the same education, so we’re all standing shoulder to shoulder completing a task.”

“It’s a five-year apprenticeship and it’s a really cool career opportunity,” said Jeff Gaecke, vice president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of North Central Wisconsin. “We say to these individuals all the time that we’re not looking for jobs, we’re looking for careers. Whether you start as a welder or a plumber today, the sky’s the limit, whether you get into project management, estimating, a leadership role at the union or at our contractors. To me, this is the start of a really neat career.”

“They’re starting their apprenticeship here at the Local 400 where they’re going to get the training for their specific trades and then they’re going to work and get paid while they learn,”

Tom Adams, training coordinator for the Local 400. “They’re going to become journeymen in five years and then the sky is the limit.”

The progression of my career is one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to,” Anderson said. “There’s so many opportunities in the Local 400 and in this trade.”

With this year’s class being the largest the Local 400 has seen, Adams said it’s an indication of not only rising demand for skilled workers, but an increase in students looking for an alternative to the traditional four-year college route after high school.

“We have 138 apprentices coming in this year, and that sets a record for us by about 30%. Really, what that shows is the amount of work we have here, but also a different path for people when they’re done with high school. A lot of them are just getting out of high school or a few years out from high school, so it just kind of shows a different way. You don’t have to go to the traditional college. You can go here, make a great wage, get paid while you learn and also have no tuition while you’re going to school.”