Apprenticeship & Workforce Development Blog

A Message from the ABC Keystone Chair of the Board

Message from the Chair: ABC’s Commitment to Training Tomorrow’s Workforce

On Thursday, May 25, 98 apprentices will graduate from the ABC Keystone Apprenticeship program, marking a milestone in each one of their careers. Graduates will be representing 42 different companies across seven various trade programs (carpentry, construction craft laborer, electrical, heavy equipment operator, HVAC, plumbing, and sheet metal). What an extraordinary achievement for each of these individuals! Reaching this milestone doesn’t happen without hard work, dedication, drive, and commitment to their trade.

May 9, 2023

Message from the Chair: Developing a Culture of Safety

Construction workplace safety is arguably the most critical part of our businesses. By its nature, construction is inherently a dangerous occupation. Day in and day out, our construction workforce is installing the infrastructure of tomorrow. These job sites are fraught with potential risks to the well-being of our workforce. Our industry has transformed immensely since the turn of the 20th century, most notably in 1970 when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law to ensure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and providing training. Since the inception of OSHA, workplace fatalities have been reduced by more than 65%. But having OSHA standards isn’t enough to ensure your workforce and trade partners go home safe and healthy at the end of the workday. As leaders in this industry, we must be committed to developing and nurturing a safety culture in our organizations.

April 3, 2023

Local ABC Keystone Apprentices Awarded
Top Honors at National Craft Competition

(Manheim, PA) March 17, 2023 — Today, ABC Keystone announced four member companies won 4 of 82 National Excellence in Construction® awards, presented during the ABC Convention 2023 in Orlando, Florida, on March 16. The EIC awards are the construction industry’s leading national competition that honors general and specialty contractors for world-class, safe, and innovative construction projects from across the country.

March 21, 2023

ABC Keystone Members Earn National Construction Project Honors

March 17, 2023

Celebrating Women in Construction Week! Meet Cynthia DeWire

This week we celebrate and recognize the women in construction at ABC Keystone. Cindy has been with ABC Keystone for 30 years, and is dedicated to increasing partnerships and articulation agreements with schools and organizations to work together to help build future leaders.

March 8, 2023

Celebrating Women in Construction Week! Meet Stephanie Larkin

This week we celebrate and recognize the women in construction at ABC Keystone. First, meet Stephanie Larkin, VP of Education. Stephanie started her career at Keystone in 2018. She supervises and coordinates the day-to-day management of the Chapter’s Education Department. Stephanie is passionate about the ABC Keystone education initiative and the success of our students.

March 8, 2023

Message from the Chair: Women in Construction Month

If you attended this year’s ABC Keystone Economic Breakfast, keynote speaker Anirban Basu spoke of the shortage of available workforce across the US in general and its direct impact on the construction industry. Workforce shortages aren’t new to the industry, and I believe many of us recognize we will continue to face this barrier for the foreseeable future.

March 2, 2023

Women In Construction Week March 5-11, 2023

HISTORY OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION WEEK

Women in Construction Week takes place during the first full week in March every year. It is a time to highlight all the great initiatives and work of women within the industry. Likewise, it is a time that brings to the fore the opportunities that are available to women in construction.

March 2, 2023

Message from the Chair: How Will an RCO Affect Your Ability to Procure New Work?

There is a growing trend throughout the Commonwealth where municipalities are enacting RCOs (Responsible Contractor Ordinances) for projects that are publicly funded in their jurisdiction. If your company competes in this arena, you will be faced with this in a community near you.

February 13, 2023

Message from the Chair:

ABC Keystone Members,
Welcome to a New Year, with new goals and a fresh perspective on the clean slate for 2023. As your Chairman for 2023, I want to take a moment to share some of the exciting initiatives that we as a Chapter will be working on throughout the year.

January 23, 2023

National Apprenticeship Week

November 13-19, 2022, we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week. During NAW, we celebrate the workers of America — the best in the world — and lift up the importance of apprenticeship programs across America.

December 1, 2022

Message from the Chair: A Year in Review

What a year we have had. Not only did we get back to business as usual, but we set new milestones and welcomed new friends from the northern part of our State. We hit 92% retainage for the second year in a row, and we hit membership growth in July for the first time. One of the exciting parts of the year was the merger of Keystone and Central regions. We now cover 33 counties in PA. We were able to welcome new businesses into the Keystone family and show the benefits of membership. It was exciting to go to the Nittany Valley region and get to know many of the members, meet some great people and get to know their businesses. There are several new business partners for all of us to get to know and work with.

December 1, 2022

Message from the Chair: An Investment in the Construction Industry

Having been a member since 1989, ABC Keystone has time and again demonstrated that our dues are not just an overhead charge, but an investment in the construction industry. Over the years, I have spent hours at ABC Keystone education events, monthly meetings and political events. ABC has always looked to educating its members not only on construction topics, but also other skills such as management and HR training and has kept us abreast of political activities that impact our businesses.

November 8, 2022

Craft Competition, Careers in Construction, National Apprenticeship Week

Fall is always a busy time at ABC Keystone with the start of Apprenticeship classes in September, the annual Local Craft Competition, Careers in Construction Month in October and National Apprenticeship Week in November.

November 8, 2022

Off and Running…Apprenticeship Classes Begin

ABC Keystone was proud to welcome over 150 new apprentices and company reps to the New Student Orientation on September 7. I shared with the students the value of ABC and the importance of students and companies working together to ensure that all registered apprenticeship requirements are achieved. The two main components of registered apprenticeship are Related Technical Instruction (RTI) – requirement of 144 hours per year/level and submission of On-the-Job-Training Hours (OJT) of 2,000 hours per year. It is exciting to welcome new apprentices and several new companies to apprenticeship for the 2022-2023 school year.

October 20, 2022

Apprenticeship & Workforce Development

Dedicated to Educating Tomorrow's Workforce