BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 9/11/2026
Anyone pursuing a trade certification or apprenticeship wants the same thing: to know that there will be a livable-wage job at the end of all that hard work. The more these opportunities are built into the industry, the stronger this guarantee can be.
A new initiative from Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello aims to expand opportunities for local contractors and strengthen employment pipelines for apprenticeships.
Mello announced the new initiative on August 31 at Clover Park Technical College’s new Eastside Campus. He also announced a separate $300,000 investment into the college to support access to the programs.
The need and desire for education in trade skills is evident by the enrollment numbers at the new campus, which opened in January 2025 with a class of 4 and jumped to 400 within about a year.
The Building Together Initiative explores how to keep more of the money the county spends on construction projects in the hands of Pierce County residents via apprenticeships and more opportunity for smaller, local contractors to win bids.
While the initiative focuses on strengthening the full spectrum of local industry, he noted that the focus on apprenticeships and career-building programs “has never been more urgent” because of the “more than 14,000 young people, ages 16 to 24, in Pierce County, who are disconnected from education or paid work.”
“We must do everything we can to address those inequities and our disconnected youth,” Mello said, and thanked the “many partners here who are already working hard to expand apprenticeships, earn-while-you-learn opportunities, and job training to stop more young people and others from falling through the cracks.”
Mello was joined at the signing by leaders and educators in the local skilled trade workforce and thanked them for their part in “creating opportunities for young people that artificial intelligence can’t take away.”
“Today is about expanding these opportunities even more, laying the foundation for improving economic mobility and stability for everyone . . . by helping the folks who pay taxes here succeed here and benefit from public work right here in Pierce County,” Mello said.
“Every year, Pierce County invests literally millions of taxpayer dollars into public work and public infrastructure” and the Building Together Initiative is meant to create “more opportunities for local workers and local contractors to help build these capital projects,” Mello said.
The new initiative includes three public works pilot projects that will include a new structure of project labor agreements to establish certain terms around conditions of employment, including wages, benefits, and other workforce requirements before starting on the project itself.
To make this happen, the initiative also establishes a Contractor Outreach, Engagement and Capacity Building program to increase local contracting on local projects as well as strengthen partnerships with apprenticeship programs.
The final piece of the initiative is the establishment of standardized data collection systems so that they can track outcomes like apprenticeship utilization and contractor participation.
The three pilot projects will include the first phase of the Clear Creek Floodplain Reconnection beginning in 2027 and the renovations of the Sprinker Recreation Center and the Pierce County Elections Center, both beginning in 2028.
Clover Park Technical College Programs
The separate investment of the funds for Clover Park Technical College will directly support 210 students through scholarships and expanded access to hands-on technical training.
The Eastside Campus currently offers programs including Heating & Air Conditioning/Refrigeration Service Technician (HVAC), Electrician Low Voltage Fire/Security, Construction Technology, Residential Electrician, and Residential Plumbing.
Dean of Trades at Clover Park Lester Burkes also shared information at the initiative announcement about two new programs, one that prepares students for a career as a Lineworker and another that teaches Arboriculture.
For those who are not industry-savvy, lineworkers construct and maintain electric transmission and distribution infrastructure like telephone and electric lines, and arboriculturists are tree experts that often support maintenance of trees in cities, residential areas, and community spaces.
Introducing these programs aligns with the school’s overall focus on responding to the needs of their students and aligning their curriculum with industry opportunity. While much of this opportunity exists through job opportunities, Clover Park’s curriculum also includes introductory instruction on entrepreneurship and the idea of starting their own companies.
Programs are also offered at flexible times of day and on weekends to match the needs of students, and they are currently working toward offering child care at the Eastside Campus as they do at other campuses.
“All of us know that Pierce County is home to some of the most skilled builders and creators in all of Washington State, and it’s because of the strong partnerships throughout our county that we can train people who live right here to build our schools, renovate our community centers, lay asphalt for our roads and bridges, and tracks for our light rail,” Mello said at the opening, celebrating the existing resources. He also noted the distance left to travel toward the goal, saying, “there is so much more work we can do to expand opportunity and ensure our skilled workers stay right here and thrive right here in Pierce County, building Pierce County projects, benefiting their own Pierce County neighborhoods.”
The Building Together Initiative is just one step being made to realize that vision.
