Transcript:

In an iconic photo from the 1930s, ironworkers eat lunch, perched on the steel beam of a skyscraper. The photo documents the critical role these tradesmen played in building city skylines.

And now, ironworkers are also essential for building another kind of tall tower – wind turbines.

Noah Mihaly, a union ironworker for White Construction, is helping build the Coles Wind Farm in Illinois.

Mihaly: “It’s almost entirely ironworkers that are preparing the engine rooms, preparing the blades … and then putting together all the pieces, as well as constructing the foundations.”

Given their vital role in building wind farms, ironworkers are in high demand as the clean energy industry expands.

So to recruit and prepare more people for these jobs, Illinois established a workforce training program under the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.

Called the Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, it provides people from underserved areas with free training and help applying to apprenticeships.

Mihaly: “The pre-apprenticeship program was my jumpstart. It was the main reason I was able to get into the ironworker’s union.”

And Mihaly says he finds the job rewarding.

Mihaly: “I just like the idea that I’m able to help put together renewable energy.”

Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media