Workforce bill seeks to expand access to skilled trades training

Natalie Pilrain left high school at 17 to raise her newborn. Determined to build a better future, she returned to school in 2023 and, seeking a career to support her family, she found Building Strong Communities that helped her get her foot in the door in the construction trades.

Pilrain is now a first-year apprentice with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, which represents operators of heavy equipment, including bulldozers, backhoes and cranes, and is making more money than she ever had.

Building Strong Communities offers a 12-week program designed to prepare participants for apprenticeships in the building trades. The nonprofit delivers online and hands-on training, connects students with advocates and provides OSHA-10 training alongside a construction curriculum.

It’s an excellent program, said Rep. Kaela Berg (DFL-Burnsville).

She sponsors HF1216 that would provide financial support to Building Strong Communities via $400,000 in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 from the Workforce Development Fund. It was laid over Tuesday by the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee for future consideration.

Per the bill, apprenticeship readiness program funding would target people who may not have a family background in the building trades including “women, individuals who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color and veterans.” 

Union apprenticeship programs are the gold standard of earn-while-you-learn, Berg said, adding they provide $40 million worth of training without public funding. Building Strong Communities helps people who may be unaware of or unready for those apprenticeships connect to those opportunities

Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar (R-Fredenberg Township) shares Berg’s passion for the trades. She said funding would also help support Construct Tomorrow, which raises awareness among high school students about careers in construction trades.

“Traditionally you know what you know,” she said. “If grow up with teachers, you might be a teacher. If you grow up on a farm, you might be a farmer. You might not know what else is available to you. This is a success story and is serving the entire state.”