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Last week was National Apprentice Week in the United States, and it’s an apt recognition of those just starting out in the construction trades.

But how do people get into the trades in the first place?

In recent years, it’s been a haphazard process that normally differs from trade to trade. One common denominator, however, is that the widespread abandonment of promoting the trades as a career option by public schools has, in part, been a key contributor to the ongoing shortage of skilled trades men and women in the industry.

鈥淚’d definitely say there is a lot of work to be done,鈥� said Katrina Cloud, the director of student services and apprenticeships at the Northwest College of Construction in Portland. 鈥淎 lot of parents help guide that as well, so really the first one who has an opportunity to have an impact is the parent and also the teacher and counselor. So if they know about those options, that this is another viable option without any debt that is incurred to the apprentice.鈥�

The NWCC recently hired new Director of Education James Reyes in part to forge stronger ties between the building industry and the educational sector. Reyes said the proportion of apprentices with college experience or even a degree is much higher than many would assume. He attributes this to the single-minded focus of educators on the college track, largely at the expense of other options for kids who may not be well-suited for an academic environment.

鈥淭he average age of apprenticeships is much higher than you think it is,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淭here’s a lot who go to community college or maybe university, and they’ll get so far in debt and then they figure out we’re around and they apply. And they realize they’re making more money than they can with a degree. And they don’t find that right out of high school with the college track.鈥�

To change that, Reyes and the NWCC are busy forging different types of programming at school districts throughout the metro region. In addition, the college works with pre-apprenticeship programs and non-profit groups to draw new apprentices.

鈥淲e align with a number of pre-apprenticeship programs,鈥� said Reyes, who formerly was the lead instructor and trainer at Constructing Hope, a Portland-based pre-apprenticeship program that specializes in working with low-income and formerly incarcerated individuals. 鈥淲e have schools that interface with our facilities, K-12, and some of them do have vocational training programs.鈥�

In addition to hosting pre-apprenticeship classes for Constructing Hope and Oregon Tradeswomen, the NWCC hosts the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center’s pre-apprenticeship students and provides instruction. The college also works hand-in-hand with Portland Youth Builders to assist that group with its mission of educating at-risk youth about the possibilities existing in construction and technology.

Reyes said the college also is trying to build stronger ties with Portland Public Schools to bring more vocational training to the state’s largest school district.

The college also jointly offers CTE education in Vancouver’s Evergreen Public Schools district, while bringing high school students from around the metro area directly to the college for instruction through externships.

鈥淭hey can go into a registered apprenticeship,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淭hat’s key. You can go to work anywhere, for any company.聽 That doesn’t mean it has an apprenticeship program, but the goal is to get a skilled labor force out there.鈥�

Exacerbating the industry’s problems in attracting talent is an aging workforce that still is reeling from the loss of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Overall construction job numbers still have not returned to the glory days of 12 years ago, leaving an ever-increasing proportion of trades workers on the verge of retirement.

鈥淚f you look at the stats, in 鈥�99 about 10 to 12 percent of skilled trades workers were getting retired,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淎nd now it’s about 25 percent. You have had a doubling as they’ve gotten behind the eight-ball where they weren’t bringing in apprentices for the long term.鈥�

The industry is increasingly looking to women and minority candidates to fill the gap, and with increasing success. This is boosted by public sector hiring regulations that help ensure those candidates find work.

It’s working, Cloud said, boosted by both traditional and social media advertising.

鈥淢ost of our programs these days are between 30 and 50 percent minorities,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re doing some really unique things. Everybody is doing social media these days, and we’re trying to relate to millennials, folks of all age ranges. We’re also looking at ways to get people connected with contractors right away; how do we make the needs of both meet?鈥�