As part of an annual process to offer guidance for compensating nonunion construction apprentices, the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has published maps and accompanying data to be used for establishing local skilled wage rates.
The draft rates, which vary by geographical region, are meant to inform the base rate for apprentice compensation for workers in construction trades who are not under a collective bargaining agreement. The process for establishing the rates provides opportunities for feedback and engagement with local apprenticeship committees, which have until Nov. 18 to contact DWD’s Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards.
The draft skilled wage rate maps are not intended as a basis for the pay rates of journeyworkers or skilled workers but rather to provide transparency to the criteria DWD uses to approve apprenticeship wage scales. The wage rates published by DWD are used to inform the minimum compensation — not the ceiling — for apprenticeship compensation.
The rates posted in the guidance maps are based on the best available statistical data. This year’s maps use data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. This methodology reflects a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Local Employment and Wage Information System. The survey uses unemployment insurance information to identify the number of employees in a given occupation within a specific geographical location and the wages paid to them.
