Members of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, area contractors and other local officials held a banquet at the SeaTac Hilton to celebrate the graduation of 281 carpentry apprenticeship graduates.

The graduation marks the culmination of four years of course work, hands on instruction and on-the-job training by the graduating apprentices.

“My company exclusively utilizes the trained craftspeople from the PNWRCC for all of our jobs,” Said Martin Bradley, owner of Machinery Installation & Maintenance Inc & an event speaker. “These are the craftspeople that will be working with contractors like me for years to come. They form the basis of our business and ensure our growth and stability as a company.”

The training that the graduating apprentices received was paid for in full by a state-wide trust that the PNWRCC and their partner contractors jointly pay into. Apprentices are only responsible for paying for their books and some related materials depending on the specializations they focus on.

The PNWRCC & Contractors education trust has been training expert craftspeople for more than 35 years. Since its creation, the joint trust has graduated an estimated 59,700 skilled craftspeople from the apprenticeship program.

The trust maintains four state-of-the-art training facilities across Western Washington where apprentices can learn everything from wall framing and ceiling installation to welding and bridge building.

“In addition to the four years of training that all of these graduates received, as members of the PNWRCC they will continue to receive ongoing training at little or no cost for as long as they are a member of the union,” said Doug Tweedy, executive secretary treasurer of the PNWRCC. “This training puts the PNWRCC head and shoulders above others competing in the construction market and ensures that our contractors will remain highly competitive in the market place.”