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The New York State chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is about to enroll the 200th apprentice in its state-registered program — a milestone achieved just 3.5 years after it was launched.

While the program helps address skilled labor needs in New York, it also anticipates potential state legislation that could require registered apprenticeships on certain types of work and some public projects, says Brian Sampson, president of ABC’s Empire State Chapter.

“Right now, our (apprenticeship) growth is largely organic but if that legislation ever passes, we’re going to see significant growth.”

Offered at ABC’s five training centres across the state, the program provides two years of training for craft laborers, five years for electricians and plumbers and three to four years for other trades under the association’s umbrella.

It is not just tradespeople the state needs. Project managers, estimators and other management positions are in demand. Every year only about 4,000 construction management students graduate from universities and colleges across the U.S., but the industry’s requirements are closer to 40,000, says Sampson.

It has turned some ABC contractor members to recruiting managers through non-traditional post-secondary programs.

“We have got people (member contractors) bringing in kids with economics degrees and creating internal training programs to teach them how to be project managers and estimators,” says Sampson, adding that the ABC is considering the creation of a registered apprenticeship program in project management to help fill the void.

Sampson says one of the burning issues at the association concerns the state’s regulations around apprentice-to-journeyperson training ratios. Under the current rules, one journeyperson is required to train an apprentice but if a second apprentice is hired three journeypersons are needed.

It is a disincentive to hiring new apprentices for many contractors, he points out. Another matter to take up with state and local governments is the creation of campaigns which dispel perceptions that construction is “a pick-and-shovel dirty industry.”

“It’s a highly technical, highly evolved and incredibly safe industry now” that offers financially rewarding career opportunities.

While New York State is investing in industries such as advanced manufacturing, Sampson says less money is going to the construction sector. As an example, the state passed a tax credit to encourage the use of apprenticeships in some industries, but it excluded the building sector. The ABC hopes it can persuade the government, which is entering an election year in 2026, to invest in workforce opportunities and hike incentives for training such as pre-apprenticeships in the non-unionized sector.

“Now most of the money goes to the building trades and organized labor,” Sampson says, adding it is why the ABC created its own state-registered apprenticeship programs.

It is also why the association retained a workforce development officer to build relationships with community organizations and school districts for the expansion of career and technical education programs. Currently, about 30 per cent of the construction workforce in the state is unionized but close to 80-85 per cent is not in a union, he says.

In the ABC’s national annual report ranking the builder and contractor climate across the U.S., New York State places near the bottom in multiple categories, following a 4-5-year trend. Sampson says the continued sliding grades in New York are partly because of overreaching government rules, regulations and laws that stifle construction growth. That includes environmental review directives, labor laws and the regulatory hurdles for contractor registration, particularly on publicly funded projects.

“It makes it difficult to be a contractor in New York,” Sampson says, adding uncertainty around tariffs on construction materials and high interest rates further impact the sector.

He says the construction heartbeat of the state, New York City, is witnessing a freeze on most new buildings, with many developers looking to other avenues for work.

Office-to-residential conversions are a bright spot in the city and the state, partly because of “a tremendous number of government incentives.”

The association also anticipates a rebound in office sector renovations, spurred by a philosophical shift by many employers to encourage employees to return to the office.

“This is a cyclical industry but if there is any industry that can adapt to change it is construction.”