Work may be slow in many job sectors but not for certified carpenters, according to Ray Vogel, of the Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters, a carpenters' union.

"Work is very good right now," he said -- so good, in fact, that some have been worried about having enough workers.

"With the construction boom here, there was concern we wouldn't be able to keep manning all the jobs, but we have been," he said.

To keep filling those needs, the carpenters council broke ground Friday for a 390,000-square-foot, $13 million state-of-the-art training center on Ridge Road in Collier, next door to the union's headquarters.

When it is complete in about a year, it will replace a cramped center in a former school building on Neville Island.

"Right now we have to fight for space," said Mr. Vogel, joint apprenticeship training coordinator for the carpenters' union. The training programs -- commercial and residential carpentry, floor covering, heavy highway carpentry, mill cabinet carpentry, millwright work and pile driving -- have to share space now. In the new center, each will have a designated area.

The center is expected to serve 700 to 800 apprentices each year. Apprentices typically spend four to five weeks a year training and the rest of their time working in the trade.

When apprentices complete their training, a process that takes about four years, they become journeymen, qualified to work in their particular area. Mr. Vogel said the center will serve about 1,000 journeymen each year who are taking classes to improve their skills.

Apprenticeships are paid for through collective bargaining and are free to the apprentices. Applicants must be at least 18, have a diploma or high school equivalency diploma, a driver's license and a vehicle. They also must be drug-free and pass an aptitude test of math and language skills.

The union is paying for the center, Mr. Vogel said. The apprenticeship program will pay rent.

"It's going to be money well-spent," he said, with apprentices becoming dues-paying union members and assuring contractors of a deep pool of workers.

Mr. Vogel noted that half of the board members of the apprenticeship program come from contracting companies -- in management positions, essentially. He said it's a good partnership, with management helping identify trends in the business so needs can be met, and labor making sure men and women are available to fill those needs.

"Non-union can't provide them with a skilled workforce," Mr. Vogel said. "We can. If you need 30 carpenters for a big concrete-forming job, we can supply them. And when you're rigging steel for a bridge or big panels for a building, you've got to be trained in how to do it.

"Just look around any big project, and you see our people."