ORONO – As part of a unique partnership involving labor, management and higher education, the University of Maine has teamed up with union and construction contractors to modernize a long-standing apprenticeship program in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The University’s Bureau of Labor Education is working with the Carpenters and Millwrights Union Local 1996 and contractors throughout northern New England to help restructure the apprenticeship program and make it more relevant to today’s economy and industry.

While carpenters still build homes, office complexes and other structures, new techniques, such as modular construction, and materials such as wood composites, have dramatically changed the trade. With the university’s assistance, a plan will be developed to restructure the apprenticeship program to better meet the training needs of employers and future carpenters and millwrights. Another goal is to encourage more women and people of color to enter the trade.

“By working with the Bureau of Labor Education, because of its experience working with other labor organizations and training programs throughout the state, we hope to develop the best program possible,” said Bruce King, the senior council representative for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

“We want our program to be recognized by both the construction industry and apprentices, as a training program that is of the highest quality. Also, we want workers to know that we can provide them with a unique, outstanding education and on-the-job training experience that will enable them to be in demand,” King said.

According to John Hanson, director of the Bureau of Labor Education at UMaine, one of the goals of the effort is “to revitalize this training program so that it will be even more effective and responsive in keeping pace with changes in the industry.”

“Training and education for apprentice carpenters and journeypeople alike are vital to the success of our company and our continuing strength as a construction industry,” said Beth Sturtevant, vice president of operations for Westbrook-based general and industrial contractor, CCB Inc. “The construction industry as a whole struggles to attract young men and women into this field. When we do attract them, we have to be sure we retain them and put them to work. Training and education helps ensure that retention. Apprentice education is worth every dollar we put into it.”

In the apprenticeship program, trainees spend three to five years working with skilled carpenters and millwrights while also taking required classes.

There are currently 55 apprentices enrolled in this program in the three states. Each apprentice receives a total of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training in various areas of carpentry and-or millwright construction, in both commercial and heavy industrial work. In addition to the on-the-job training, each apprentice also receives a minimum of 576 hours of instruction provided at a carpenter-millwright training center located in Augusta, South Burlington, Vt., or Dover, N. H.

To meet this educational requirement, each apprentice must attend two full weeks of classes at a training center, twice a year, for each year of the apprenticeship. The length of an individual’s apprenticeship and training may be less because previous qualified experience as a carpenter or millwright may be counted.

While receiving on-the-job training, apprentices are paid an hourly rate that is a percentage of a skilled journeyworker’s rate of pay. Apprentices start at 60 percent of this pay rate and receive pay rate increases of 5 percent for every six-month term they complete. The starting rate of pay for first-year apprentices ranges from $10.35 to $11.55 per hour. In addition to this pay, apprentices receive fringe benefits, including health insurance and pension contributions.

Representatives from CCB Construction Inc. in Westbrook; Northeast Generating Services Inc. in Londonderry, N.H.; and Coastline Industrial Piping Inc. in Gray sit on the board of trustees, representing the needs of the contractors throughout northern New England.

Applicants for the program must be 17 years of age or older, and should have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Interest and abilities in carpentry or millwright activities are useful indicators in determining a perspective candidate’s aptitude in these trade areas.

This can include not only related course work, but also informal projects in households and other settings. The apprenticeship and training program does not discriminate based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin or ancestry, mental or physical disability, or age.

To receive information and application materials, call one of the training centers of the Carpenters & Millwrights Union in Augusta at 622-6664, in Dover, N.H., at (603) 742-4465, or South Burlington, Vt., at (802) 862-9411.