The Greater Hartford-New Britain Building Trades Council, a union that represents about 30,000 construction workers statewide, is offering pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships through a 10-year project labor agreement the City Council approved last year. Project officials want 25% of hired construction workers to be city residents and another 30% from Litchfield County. More than 300 city families are affiliated with the Building Trades Council, said Joe Toner, council executive director. The council is working with district officials to recruit 48 to 60 THS students or graduates per year for its apprenticeship programs through 2031, building committee Co-Chairman Ed Arum said. After the 12 to 15 students or graduates are selected, they will attend an academy in Pomfret, where they will take a 40-hour training course to learn about the building trades, Toner said. Meeting the 25% city resident threshold could regenerate about $12 million in wages and benefits in the city, he said. Construction is slated to begin in October with a scheduled occupancy date of February 2025.
