National Apprenticeship Week 2026: Buffalo’s Union Apprenticeships Are Building the Next Generation

This week marks the first-ever spring National Apprenticeship Week, and there’s no better place to celebrate it than Buffalo. The 2026 theme — “America at Work: Making America Skilled Again Through Registered Apprenticeship” — recognizes what Western New York has known for over a century: the path to a stable, well-paid career doesn’t have to run through a four-year degree and a pile of student debt. It can start at a union hall.

For the families we represent at Collins & Collins, that path is more than a slogan. It’s how generations have built lives in this region — and how they’ve built the bridges, hospitals, schools, and stadiums that keep Buffalo running.

What a registered apprenticeship actually is

A registered apprenticeship is a paid, on-the-job training program backed by classroom instruction and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or New York State. Apprentices earn a real paycheck — and full health benefits — from day one, and their wages step up as they hit each training milestone. Programs typically run three to five years, and graduates leave with a journey-level credential that’s portable across the country. There’s no tuition. No loans. Just steady work, a trade, and a community of people who have your back.

The U.S. Department of Labor expects roughly 2,700 events and proclamations across the country during NAW 2026, with the building trades singled out as a national priority. In Buffalo, the trades aren’t a priority — they’re a way of life.

The local unions training Buffalo’s workforce

Whether you’re starting your first job, switching careers, or helping a kid figure out their next move, these are the Buffalo-area locals running registered apprenticeship programs right now:

• Electrical: IBEW Local 41 (Orchard Park) and IBEW Local 237 (Niagara Falls)

• Plumbers, Steamfitters, and HVAC: UA Local 22 — a five-year program in plumbing, steamfitting, or HVAC, run out of a 30,000-square-foot training center

• Carpentry: Carpenters Local 276 (NASRCC), serving 12 Western New York counties

• Ironworking: Ironworkers Local 6 — chartered in 1901, the sixth ironworkers local in the country

• Sheet Metal: SMART Local 71 — five-year program; apprentices start at $21.73/hour plus benefits

• Laborers: LIUNA Local 210 — construction laborers, highway laborers, and mason tenders

• Operating Engineers: IUOE Local 17 — heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and surveyors

• Bricklayers, masons, and tile setters: BAC Local 3 NY (Buffalo Chapter)

• Painters, glaziers, drywall finishers: IUPAT District Council 4 — covers 33 counties of Western and Central New York

• Roofers: Roofers Local 74 — three-year program, no prior experience required

• Cement Masons & Plasterers: Cement Masons Local 111 (North Tonawanda)

• Heat & Frost Insulators: Insulators Local 4

• Elevator Constructors: IUEC Local 14

• Boilermakers: Boilermakers Local 5, Zone 7 (Orchard Park)

For an umbrella view of every trade, the Buffalo & Niagara Building Construction and Trades Council maintains contacts and recruitment info for all 18 affiliated unions.

Why this matters to Collins & Collins

Our firm has stood with Buffalo’s union members for more than 70 years. Our founder, John T. Collins, was a leader in the labor movement, and that connection has shaped everything we do. We see firsthand what union training delivers: members who go home safer, families who can plan for a future, and a Western New York workforce that gets the hardest projects done right.

Apprenticeships build careers. Labor builds our community. Whether you’re considering applying or you already wear the boots, National Apprenticeship Week is a great time to thank a journey worker, share a posting with someone who needs it, and recognize the locals that make this region run.

We build. You build. We all win.