Building the Future Workforce: Lessons in Partnership from Rosedale Technical College
The following is a Viewpoint written by Dennis Wilke, president of Rosedale Technical College, Pittsburgh
For the past several years, construction companies across the country have been facing a familiar but intensifying challenge: too many open positions, and too few people ready to fill them. The solution to this problem won’t be solved with generic workforce programs or optimistic national initiatives—it starts closer to home, locally, with personalized partnerships between contractors and the many CTEs, community college construction programs, and training institutions preparing the next generation of skilled workers.
At Rosedale Technical College, we’ve spent 75 years building our programs hand-in-hand with the employers who trust and rely on our graduates. These employers don’t just hire our grads, they also help shape curriculum, provide equipment and lab space, and supervise on-site job training. This collaborative model has transformed classrooms into career pipelines, and it offers a blueprint any contractor can adapt. Today, roughly half of all construction firms partner with training programs in some form—but given the workforce crisis this industry faces, we need that number to be much closer to 100%. And it can be accomplished with more companies working one-on-one with training programs.
At Rosedale, we’ve seen those relationships thrive. Tudi Mechanical, which offers HVAC and plumbing services, has been working with us for more than a decade, “We work with well over 10 different trade schools in the area, and by far, Rosedale is the strongest out there,” COO Dan Tudi says plainly:
The firm's involvement goes far beyond recruitment—it hosts mock interviews with soon-to-be graduates, open its facilities for student tours and helps Rosedale instructors stay current on new building systems, code regulations and technologies. Dan Tudi has also volunteered to help host prospective students at Saturday morning open-house events
Another partnership with Equipment & Controls Inc. offers a different model. The company regularly hires graduates from our electrical and welding programs, inviting students on-site to see how automation and control systems fit into modern building operations. As ECI’s Stephanie Scarci told me, “We’ve gotten some of our top candidates from Rosedale. They come in foundationally ready to go, and they bring interpersonal skills that are hard to teach.”
For employers, those interpersonal skills—communication, reliability, and professionalism—matter as much as technical proficiency. We’re really proud of developing these skills in our students and feel everyone in the trades can benefit from them. That’s why our faculty doesn’t just teach wiring diagrams or how to read blueprints. They model the professionalism that industry partners demand, and that, in turn, helps them reduce onboarding costs, employee turnover and the need for rework.
I often tell colleagues in construction that they don’t have to run a college to benefit from Rosedale’s partnership approach. Here are some ways any construction firm can strengthen its own workforce pipeline with technical colleges, drawn from what we’ve learned.
Invite your local trade schools or apprenticeship programs into your operations. Show them the technologies, software, and project delivery methods you use. Extend an invitation for your professionals to give an industry-related lecture, or even co-teach a course. The closer their training matches your job site, the faster new hires will contribute safely and effectively.
The most successful partnerships between students and employers start well before graduation. Offer internships, part-time roles, or mentorship programs that expose students to real-world conditions while they’re still in school. Invite them to your job site or set up meetings with them and a supervisor. Several of our partners now hire students halfway through their programs because they’ve seen the value of early engagement—and they have proof of their skills and commitment.
What makes our partnerships work isn’t just the donation of equipment or volunteering to be on advisory boards—it’s genuine camaraderie. When employers walk our halls, they know our instructors by name. They see students who are both respectful and respected, encouraging and encouraged, not nameless numbers processed through a prescribed education. That sense of community builds loyalty—and loyalty builds the workforce that keeps this industry strong.
As contractors and educators, we share the same mission: to build things that last. Whether it’s a new development or a curriculum, success depends on foundations—trust, collaboration, and shared purpose. Partnerships rooted in those values can do more than fill jobs: They can transform entire communities.
So as you look at your own organization, ask a simple question: Who are your Rosedales? Which schools, associations, or training programs could you partner with today to secure the skilled workforce you’ll need tomorrow? Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years at Rosedale, it’s this: We can’t build the future alone.
Dennis Wilke is president of Rosedale Technical College in Pittsburgh, Pa. Under his leadership, Rosedale has become a national model for employer-first workforce training, launching innovative programs in HVAC, automotive, carpentry, electronics, welding and more. He also hosts a monthly initiative called “Blue Collar Mindfulness” to support student well-being.