Arizona is seeing a high demand for construction, electrical and plumbing workers and multiple state agencies are collaborating to fulfill that demand through apprenticeship programs. 

According to data from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, the state is going to need 20,000 new construction workers by 2030 to support the growth of other industries like manufacturing and health care. OEO, the Arizona Department of Economic Security and several other state agencies say apprenticeships will help train and employ those workers.

Carlos Contreras, director of OEO, said the state has launched a plan under Gov. Katie Hobbs to double the number of registered apprenticeships in construction by 2026. He attributes that need to the investments that have come into the state in recent years.

“Any type of investment that’s coming into the state, which we’ve seen very large investments come in for semiconductor manufacturing, anything like that starts with a construction project,” Contreras said. “So whether it’s a school, hospital, roads, facilities for companies, we need construction workers.”

Contreras said the state has identified a few areas where it can help support the growth of those apprenticeship programs. He said those include funding for salaries and increased capacity, recruiting underrepresented demographics like women and tribal members and attracting more instructors and journeymen. 

One of the biggest challenges the state sees is educating Arizonans about apprenticeship opportunities.

“If you don’t grow up in the industry, you just don’t know,” Contreras said. “So [we’ve] been investing in those types of programs just to educate folks in terms of what an apprenticeship is, how much money you can make, what type of work you get to do. We think that that’ll open up more talent.”

Contreras said the state plans to launch an outreach campaign early next year to help raise awareness for different apprenticeship programs in Arizona. The state is also launching new apprenticeship programs regularly, with Hobbs announcing this week the creation of four programs in the semiconductor industry in partnership with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

“With strong partners like TSMC, Arizona has been a leader in synchronizing our workforce efforts and investing in training that meets private sector needs and targets key industries powering our economy, and today’s announcement is a continuation of our commitment to connecting Arizonans to the jobs of the future,” Hobbs said in a statement released on Nov. 19.

Joann Bueno, the state apprenticeship program director for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, said there is also a demand for electrical and plumbing workers within the construction trade that her program is hoping to address.

Bueno said some of that demand comes with current workers retiring or getting ready to retire, creating a knowledge gap that increases the urgent need for apprentices who can learn from those workers now.

“We can’t wait for them to graduate,” Bueno said. “We try to find ways to already open up opportunities to explore those occupations and or that industry, and we try to do it through building pre-apprenticeships or creating youth opportunity for apprenticeships while in high school.”

Bueno said Arizona is taking an “all hands on deck” approach to address the workforce shortages within construction trades. 

“Across the nation, we are facing a workforce shortage, and truly, it is a huge challenge brought about by other issues that need to be tackled,” Bueno said. “So, in that regard, our state is doing a lot.” 

She pointed out that National Apprenticeship Week is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but Arizona Apprenticeship week has been celebrated as far back as the 1950s.

“Apprenticeship is a great tool for both the employers and the career seekers, and for a career seeker, it provides that paid employment, this paid opportunity to learn and acquire new skills that will make them better in those fields that they’re training for,” Bueno said.