Grow Your Own Crew: Why Paid Apprenticeships Pay Off

Ask a small to mid size contractor what’s holding back growth, and the answer usually comes back to people. You need workers who show up, learn the trade, and stay long enough to lead a crew someday. Paid apprenticeships are one of the most reliable ways to build that kind of team. You train new hires on your jobs, your way, while they earn a real paycheck from the first day. For the apprentice, it’s a path into a skilled trade without student debt. And with the U.S. Department of Labor putting fresh money behind Registered Apprenticeship this fall, small and mid-size construction firms have good reason to take a closer look.

The Labor Gap Isn’t Closing on Its Own

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) estimates the industry must bring in about 349,000 net new workers in 2026, with that need climbing to 456,000 in 2027. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu put it bluntly: failing to fill those seats “will worsen labor shortages, especially in certain occupations and regions.”

Keeping the workers you have is getting harder too. According to Construction Dive’s report on September jobs data, close to 200,000 construction workers quit that month, the most since early 2023. Macrina Wilkins of the Associated General Contractors of America noted that many contractors “are struggling to find qualified applicants.”

New Federal Support for Apprenticeship

On Nov. 2, the Department of Labor (DOL) opened applications for its Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program. Sponsors of Registered Apprenticeships can apply for direct payments of up to $6,000 per apprentice. WorldatWork reports that applications are taken on a rolling basis until funds run out.

Leadership at the DOL calls direct support to sponsors “the fastest way to help skilled Americans enter the workforce.”

One caveat: this round is split into six industry-specific funds focused on areas like shipbuilding, semiconductors, telecom and IT. General construction isn’t named, though firms doing telecom or energy work may want to check eligibility. Everyone else can browse other federal support on Apprenticeship.gov.

Why Apprenticeships Pay Off for Contractors

Experienced journeyworkers are expensive and hard to find. An apprenticeship lets you grow your own. A Registered Apprenticeship pairs paid on-the-job learning with related classroom instruction, often through a community college, trade association or union training center.

The bigger payoff is loyalty. The Department of Labor reports that more than 93% of Registered Apprenticeship completers stay on as employees. When you’ve invested in someone’s training and given them a clear path to higher pay, they have great reasons to stay.

A Real Path to a Family-Sustaining Career

For the person you hire, an apprenticeship is a job, an education and a credential at the same time. Apprentices earn wages that typically rise as they hit skill milestones, and they finish with a nationally recognized credential that travels with them. According to the Department of Labor, these pathways lead to jobs with an average starting salary of $86,000.

DOL notes that young apprentices in 2025 were especially concentrated in construction, which gives you a recruiting edge. When you can show a high school graduate, a career changer or a veteran a clear line from day one to a skilled-trade income, you’re offering something a lot of employers can’t.

Getting Started Without Building It All Yourself

You don’t need an HR department to take part in apprenticeship opportunities. Many smaller contractors join an existing program run by a trade association, union or community college rather than registering their own. These group sponsors handle much of the paperwork and classroom training, while you provide the jobsite experience and mentoring.

Good to Know: Apprenticeships In Action

In Maine, Christine Kendall runs H.E. Callahan Construction Co., a 34-person contractor in Auburn. She hired 19-year-old Caleb Parker as an apprentice after he finished the Maine Construction Academy, a free four-week program from the Associated General Contractors of Maine. Now he’s building foundation forms on commercial jobs, and he told the Portland Press Herald he’s “most definitely going to stick with it.”

In Houston, Houston Community College’s Gulf Coast Region Apprenticeship Hub is recognized by the DOL to run registered apprenticeships in plumbing, sheet metal and electrical work. Apprentices are paid, paired with a mentor and earn a rising share of journeyworker wages, according to Community Impact. The hub matches them with local employers, so contractors can tap in without building a program themselves.

Ready for Bigger Jobs? Make Sure Your Bonding Keeps Up

A stronger, more stable crew means you can say yes to more work, including public and private projects that require bid, performance and payment bonds. When a surety reviews a contractor, it wants confidence that the work will get done. A trained team you can count on helps tell that story.

Colonial Surety Company’s Hometown Bonding Program offers credit-based bonding for local contractors with occasional bid and performance bond needs. As you grow, The Partnership Account® for Contractors lets seasoned contractors pre-qualify for a surety line of credit and issue their own bid bonds in minutes. 

Contact Colonial Surety Company today to find the right fit for growing your construction company: Surety Bonds.

Why Colonial Surety Company

Since 1930, Colonial Surety Company has helped businesses of every size get bonded. We’re a direct writer of surety bonds, rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and listed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Contractors get bonding programs that fit where they are today and room to grow, plus something rare in this industry: direct access to a live underwriter whenever you need one. Fast online tools, real people and the strength to back your next project. That’s Colonial Surety Company.