Construction company is building its own workforce
By Terry Troy
One construction company is taking its shortage of skilled laborers and carpenters to heart in the Heart of It All.
With commercial construction booming across the state, especially in the Cincinnati and Columbus regions, Pepper Construction has launched a very successful carpentry apprenticeship program in Cincinnati. Now, the company has announced that it will launch a second companion program in Columbus later this year.
Pepper has been a major construction player in Ohio since 2006, opening its first office in Columbus. It opened its second office in Cincinnati the following year.
So why did the first carpentry apprenticeship program start in Cincinnati as opposed to Columbus?
“I think it’s just because we were a little more ahead of the game there,” says Melissa Buller, director of Human resources for Pepper. “I really have to give the credit to Matt and Dave. They are the two who really got the apprenticeship program off the ground.”
Matt Watters, senior superintendent of the company’s Self Perform Group, and Davis Lewis, group superintendent, spearheaded Pepper’s first efforts to establish a cohort in Cincinnati.
“Dave and I had both participated in union apprenticeships as carpenters, but we had never actually put one together,” Watters recalls. “One of the first things we were tasked with was putting a curriculum together to teach our laborers and carpenters.”
The two contacted ACI (Allied Construction Industries) for sample books, eventually cherry picking the most appropriate topics for instruction.
“We eventually came up with a curriculum that we divided into four levels,” says Watters. “Our thought was to have the first and second levels include our laborers, so at the end of the second level, they would have the choice of going on with levels three and four if they wanted to go on to become carpenters, or simply go on as a journeyman laborer.”
Once they graduate from Pepper’s four-tier apprenticeship program, new carpenters are certified.
“And once they graduate, they can take that certification and show it to an employer from another state, if they would like,” says Watters. “Naturally, we would like them to stay right here.
“My plan is that once they graduate from our program, it rolls them right into a very lucrative career, because the sky is the limit at Pepper. When you graduate from an apprenticeship program as a carpenter, you can very easily go on to become a superintendent or project manager—it all depends on how much you want to put into your career.”
Best of all, apprentices are paid as they learn a skilled trade.
“Our level one carpenters and laborers start out in the $18 to $20 an hour range,” says Watters. “Then as you go up to another level, you get a raise. Journeymen top out between $28 and $32 an hour. I don’t know of any profession where you go from $18 to over $30 an hour in that kind of time frame.”
Pepper is also very active in the recruitment of students into skilled construction professions, starting in high school.
“It’s a little easier sell these days, especially for students who want a good paying career without incurring a lot of debt,” says Watters.
In the Cincinnati area, Pepper has partnered with Diamond Oaks Career Campuses, which offers a full slate of courses related to the construction technologies.
“We have a really good relationship with the instructor there, and they provide us with some really good candidates,” says Watters. “He calls me when their junior year is coming up and we usually hire them for the summer between the junior and senior year. If they like us and we like them, they can choose to do a placement program where they work between one and four days a week, depending on their program.”
And they are getting a paycheck while they matriculate and learn a very valuable skill.
Nationwide, employment for carpenters is expected to grow 4% from 2023 to 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, creating about 76,500 openings per year. In Ohio, there are more than 23,000 carpenters, with approximately 1,900 positions opening each year.
However, two factors may increase the need for those wishing to enter the profession, especially in areas like Ohio that are experiencing industry growth: Commercial construction demand is increasing, while the pool of skilled labors is contracting due to retirements as well as a shrinking pool of immigrant labor—which could push pay scales even higher.
The second Pepper Construction apprenticeship program in the Columbus area is expected to come online this September.
While Pepper Construction is actively involved in building its workforce, it’s also very active in building schools as well as community buildings in the Cincinnati area. That includes a renovation at Lockland Schools and construction at the Colerain Fire Station.
Pepper Construction provides construction management, general contracting, design-build and self-perform services for projects ranging from $10,000 to $750 million. Headquartered in Chicago and today employing more than 1,200 folks nationwide, Pepper Construction was founded by Stanley F. Pepper almost 100 years ago (1927).
It completed its first major retail project in Ohio, Von Maur at The Green in Beavercreek in 2010, building off a relationship it has enjoyed with Von Maur since 2001.
In addition to its numerous construction projects across the state, the company and its employees and associates partner with numerous community organizations like Junior Achievement of Central Ohio, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, Habitat for Humanity, Scouting America – Simon Kenton Council and the Little Miami Conservancy.