BY: KEITH ELDREDGE, CPA, RKL, ABC KEYSTONE 2022 CHAIR OF THE BOARD

It’s time to celebrate! How great it is to see individuals work hard, complete their training, and move on to the next stage of their lives. High school students are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives after school. College grads are looking for their first job and dealing with the student debt they have amassed. And, craft professionals have completed their education and are moving into their careers fully trained.

ABC Keystone received its apprenticeship accreditation in 1968 and has celebrated 52 graduating classes since that time. On May 18, the Keystone Chapter celebrated its 2022 graduating apprenticeship class. Eighty-four individuals graduated and are now moving into careers in construction. The 2022 graduating class has been trained by our full-time instructors (some of the best in their fields), gained hands-on experience, and earned an income while learning. They graduate with the knowledge and the skills needed to be successful in their field. Apprenticeship is one of the only types of training that truly prepares students for their careers. These individuals spend time both in classrooms and in the field to get their training, and they did all this while graduating with no debt.

During the ceremony, we also celebrated our Craft Professionals of the Year. This award recognizes the craft professionals who set a high standard for specialists in their craft by exhibiting outstanding skills and leadership. Congratulations to Ed Espenshade from Wohlsen Construction Company as the Carpentry winner and Bryan Williams from C Mechanical Services as the Electrical winner.

It was a pleasure to be a part of our graduation. It was exciting to see the graduates’ families and friends there to support them. Looking at the graduates, you realize their careers are just starting and wonder where their careers will take them. Some will be supervisors, project managers and even might own their own companies one day. It’s exciting to see that hope and realize that next generation of construction workers will shape the construction industry in the merit shop way with the skills they learned at ABC Keystone.

We want to congratulate all those who graduated and wish them the best of luck. Know that ABC Keystone will always be here to help, train, and advocate for you, the construction professional.

Don’t forget, it is STEP time as well! We need your data to help advocate for the merit shop contractors. Your data is essential to ABC to help provide the data we need to fight for your rights and to fight against the misinformation the unions have been spreading about merit shop contractors. Please help by completing your applications today.

Posted June 7, 2022