POST FALLS — A grant awarded to the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center could help meet the need for skilled construction employees in a rapidly growing region.

The center in Post Falls has received a $524,170 Workforce Development Training Fund Innovation grant from the Idaho Workforce Development Council.

The two-year grant will help establish new, federally registered programs in construction pre-apprenticeship, construction apprenticeship and heavy equipment operator apprenticeship.

Bill Radobenko, president of ACI Northwest, once went through NIC’s apprenticeship program, as did several of his managers.

“We feel it’s extremely important in our area to promote apprenticeships for the trades,” Radobenko said.

Dozens of ACI Northwest employees are already enrolled in existing NIC apprenticeship programs, and the company offers scholarships and tuition reimbursement. They are eager to add NIC’s construction and heavy equipment operator programs as new opportunities for their employees.

ACI Northwest has hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment, Radobenko said, but not enough operators trained to use them all.

“Everything takes longer,” he said. “Having trained, skilled operators and employees is extremely important in what we do.”

NIC’s new apprenticeship programs could be part of the solution in North Idaho.

“The need in our area for something like this is long overdue, as the shortage of skilled equipment operators is not going to get better without it,” Radobenko said.

NIC Workforce Training Center Director Vicki Isakson said the Workforce Development Training Fund Innovation grant and the new apprenticeship programs are the result of partnerships with many community-based employers who told NIC there were skill gaps in the industry that needed to be bridged.

“We’re extremely grateful that the Idaho Workforce Development Council recognized the need and gave us the funding to address it,” Isakson said.

Employment forecasts for the construction industry indicate a 31.8% increase in jobs statewide from 57,759 in 2020 to 76,143 in 2030, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

For North Idaho, employment projections indicate a 24% increase in the next 10 years.

The Idaho Associated General Contractors reported that 83% of Idaho firms have unfilled hourly craft positions.

“In 2020, we surveyed more than 200 housing-related contractors to verify and determine the regional demand,” said Colleen Hoffman, NIC Workforce Training Center Customized Training coordinator. “Survey results indicated an overwhelming need for construction skills and heavy equipment operator skills. Since then, several employers and non-employers, such as the North Idaho Building Contractors Association, have joined the conversation and identified additional training gaps.”

The project aims to enroll 124 participants over a two-year period. Participants who complete the training will earn industry-recognized credentials from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

Those who complete construction or heavy equipment apprenticeship programs will earn their journey-level certification.

NIC Workforce Training Center staff are working closely with industry partners to develop program design, provide subject matter expertise, provide space and equipment and create tools to measure and evaluate the impact the program will have on the local industry.

The grant covers start-up costs to get the programs up and running. There will be tuition costs for participants, but various forms of funding will be available, including Idaho Launch, which covers 75 to 90% of costs. Scholarships will also be available.

“Participants can earn as they learn,” Isakson said.

The Idaho Workforce Development Council is currently dispersing training funds through the Idaho Launch program.

For more information on tuition assistance, visit idaholaunch.com. The new apprenticeship programs are expected to open in late summer 2022.

For more information about the new registered apprenticeship program, contact Colleen Hoffman at 208-769-7732 or colleen.hoffman@nic.edu.