Fiedler, Watro introduce bipartisan legislation to launch new statewide workforce development strategy, establish trades pre-apprenticeships at community colleges
Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler June 5, 2026 | 4:19 PM
HARRISBURG, June 5 – Today, state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., and Rep. Dane Watro, R-Luzerne/Schuylkill, introduced H.B. 2461, known as the Building and Construction Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Initiative.
The legislation would create stronger pathways for Pennsylvanians to find family-sustaining, union jobs by strengthening the partnership among Pennsylvania’s building trades unions and its 15 community colleges.
House Bill 2461 would establish pre-apprenticeship programs at each of Pennsylvania’s community colleges using NABTU’s Multi-Craft Core Curriculum. It would also create an annual Building and Construction Trades Youth Camp to engage students as early as middle school and a grant program to help community colleges operate each of the new programs.
“For many, the path into a union job starts in pre-apprenticeship and CTE programs, which expose young people to work and career options that they didn’t even know existed. These are life-changing, transformational moments. Pennsylvania needs to invest more in these programs,” Fiedler said. “These unions don’t just provide a job, they offer a career with family-sustaining wages and benefits, and a future. In 2026, this is how many can still realize the American dream: pay your bills each month, take your family on vacation, and have time to coach your kids’ softball team.”
The next decade will see the retirement of nearly 40% of Pennsylvania’s current skilled trades workforce, and without stronger pipelines into the building trades, available positions may go unfilled.
“We’ve got a problem in Pennsylvania. Fewer and fewer people are seeking out skilled trade careers. These are the jobs that build, maintain and repair things that most of us depend on in our daily lives. If we don’t have enough of them, all of Pennsylvania suffers,” Watro said. “Sadly, right now, we’re on track to be short by more than 300,000 skilled trade workers by 2030. But we can start turning that around. We can link students directly to community colleges, technical schools, building trade programs and pre-apprenticeship pipelines, and give young Pennsylvanians a shot at in-demand, family-supporting careers, not just a job that pays rent. This problem isn’t going to be fixed overnight, but this legislation is how we start to change things.”
Pennsylvania community colleges annually enroll more than 264,000 students. In academic year 2024-2025, community colleges partnered with more than 1,800 companies to provide workforce training.
The legislation will also create a commission tasked with bridging gaps among CTE schools and pre-apprenticeship programs at community colleges, to create a more seamless system to recognize credits and provide pathways to careers.
“The Building & Construction Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Initiative legislation represents a significant step forward in aligning Pennsylvania’s education and workforce systems,” said Dr. Tuesday Stanley, president of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. “By strengthening career and technical education, expanding pre-apprenticeship pathways, and investing in partnerships with community colleges and industry, this legislation helps ensure that more Pennsylvanians can access high-quality training that leads to family-sustaining careers.”