Nothing is more fundamental to ABC's mission than promoting fair and open competition in the construction industry. But until now the playing field wasn't level when it came to public work, because apprenticeship requirements are based on the union model, which left many open shop firms unable to bid.
That all changed with the launch of ABC's Merit Apprenticeship Program in 2011. MAP provides its member companies with the opportunity to bid on virtually any public sector prevailing wage job - be it federal, state, local or out-of-state - because the program is registered with the Department of Workforce Development's Division of Apprentice Standards.
Now MAP has reached another milestone in its development with the launch of www.meritapprentice.org. This new website provides all the information that companies need to know about how to join and potential apprentices need to apply.
MAP gives its member companies the opportunity to augment their hiring process and find qualified candidates from the program's nine labor pools located across the Commonwealth and in southern New Hampshire. MAP can free human resource personnel or owners from much of the bureaucratic maze of paperwork, thus allowing them to focus on other important responsibilities.
If you are part of a construction firm's management team, I urge you to check out www.meritapprentice.org, then talk to member companies and see how your company can be part of the largest registered merit group program in the commonwealth without losing control of your labor force. MAP is the latest, and one of the most important examples of ABC's ongoing work to ensure fair and open competition.
Thomas Descoleaux is the chairman of ABC - Massachusetts, Burlington.