After several years of daunting worker shortages in Wisconsin, a local trade union recently opened up a new training facility that will hopefully provide more opportunities to reach out to young people.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 159 opened a new facility in McFarland Business park, designed to serve as a training facility and outreach location.

Wisconsin has been struggling with a worker shortage for about the last two years. Skilled trades, such as plumbers, electricians and construction workers have been hit the hardest, Dave Branson, executive director of the Building Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin, said.

The cause of the shortage is uncertain, but Branson believes the shortage is a result of the economy. Following the recession in 2008, there was less demand for trade labor in Wisconsin because most people were trying to save money. For IBEW, there was a notable decrease in membership in 2008 due to the bad economy, IBEW Local 159 Business Manager Robert Doyle said.

In the last two years, the economy has improved and people are starting to pursue further development once again, Branson said.

“The economy is getting a lot better, and people are starting to do projects that they put on hold,” Branson said. “The upturn in the economy has allowed building and development to take place.”

The growth in the Wisconsin economy over the last few years has been notable, Department of Workforce Ethan Schuh said. At a government level, the DWD is continuing programs like Youth Apprenticeship and Wisconsin Fast Forward that are designed to draw young people to trade careers to try and keep up with this growth, Schuh said.

Doyle agrees the economy was a key cause of the worker shortage, but he also believes fewer people are trying to go into trade careers, and all the trades have seen a decrease in applicants.

The cause could be fewer people learning how to work with tools and basic trade skills at a young age, Doyle said.

“I do not think a lot of people in this generation have been brought up to work with tools, to really get out there and use their hands,” Doyle said.

The lack of trade workers could prove detrimental to the further development of the region, Branson said. When contractors are overwhelmed by work and experiencing labor shortages, they may be more hesitant to take on new projects, he said.

Trade leaders in Wisconsin are focused on working to decrease the shortage by drawing more individuals into trade-based careers.

The Building Trades Council has been working to conduct a needs analysis to determine the deficit in each trade so that they can better address the shortage, Branson said.

The council has also been working to reach younger and broader audiences, hoping to attract them to the construction field. The average apprentice age is currently around 26, meaning most of the individuals have already gone to college or worked in other fields, Branson said.

Talking with high schools and spreading awareness about the benefits of construction jobs has been a key component in their outreach, Branson said.

“We are trying to talk more to the young people,” he said. “We want them to know that construction jobs are good-paying, family-supporting jobs with benefits.”