A construction boom is coming to Prince George’s County.
Major upcoming developments at the former Six Flags site in Bowie and the planned Sphere entertainment venue at National Harbor bring promises of construction jobs and economic opportunities.
This month, County Executive Aisha Braveboy said Sphere agreed to direct at least half of its construction spending to county small businesses and 40% to minority-owned businesses.
County workforce officials expect demand for skilled labor to grow. LaTara Harris, president and CEO of Employ Prince George’s, said the county is projecting nearly 13,000 construction and skilled trade job openings through 2030.
“In Prince George’s County the cranes are coming, and that’s an exciting thing,” Harris said. “I’ve talked to the county executive, and she agrees that we’re in somewhat of a renaissance.”
Harris pointed to $10 billion in anticipated development projects that officials hope will drive a surge of employment opportunities in electrical work, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, welding and heavy equipment operation.
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Harris said the county’s construction industry has grown about 9% in the past five years.
“We expect that growth to accelerate as more of these major developments continue to move forward,” she said.
For local workers, training in the skilled trades can offer a pathway into a growing market, especially at a time when four-year degrees face growing skepticism over their cost.
As national college enrollment declines, more high school students are opting for technical careers. Prince George’s students can explore that path through high school career and technical education programs, the community college’s Skilled Trades Center and through trade associations’ training programs.
Training for trades
Inside CraftMasters Academy on a recent Wednesday, seven apprentices worked under the watchful eyes of judges.
Five plumbing apprentices at the construction training center off Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville measured and cut PVC pipe. Two electrical apprentices at an open wall frame ran wires and installed electrical boxes.
They were vying for a chance to compete at the National Craft Championships in Denver next spring.
An estimated 47,749 Prince George’s County residents worked in the construction industry from 2020 through 2024, accounting for 9.6% of employees older than 16, according to Census Bureau estimates.
The academy is operated by the ABC CraftMasters Training Trust, an independent nonprofit established by Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington, a regional construction trade group. The 12,000-square-foot facility has trained workers since 1983 and has operated in Prince George’s County for more than two decades, President Dan Bond said.
CraftMasters offers instruction in 21 trades, including plumbing, electrical work, heating and air conditioning. Apprentices can work in their respective trades while completing training at the academy.
“When a member comes to us and says, ‘I need to train my employees — can you train my plumbers, electricians, HVAC, and carpenters across the board?’ — we are there to do it,” Bond said.
Most registered apprentices at the academy enroll through an approved employer, which generally helps cover training costs.
Construction apprenticeship programs typically take about four years, and combine paid, on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Apprentices generally begin earning 50%-65% of a journeyworker’s wage, with pay increasing as they progress through the program, according to ABC.
Facilities like CraftMasters represent one path. Harris said Employ Prince George’s also connects residents with a range of training providers and apprenticeship programs. She highlighted local training and apprenticeships offered by IBEW Local 26, Steamfitters Local 602 and Independent Electrical Contractors, as well as Prince George’s Community College Skilled Trades Center.
Harris also pointed out that some of the county’s high schools offer construction-related career and technical education programs that usher young talent into the construction industry.
Harris said that connecting Prince George’s County workers to these training opportunities and emerging jobs takes constant coordination across the region.
“We do work on both sides of the workforce equation,” Harris said. “We listen to employers about the trades and skills and credentials they need, and we also help the residents understand those pathways that they need to get there.”
That employer-backed model was on display on the competition floor in Beltsville. Jonatan Miranda, a superintendent at Magnolia Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, attended the event to support one of his technicians. The Rockville-raised man graduated from a similar apprenticeship program.
Miranda learned about Magnolia through a family member before securing an HVAC apprenticeship with the company a decade ago.
Magnolia covered his full four years of schooling while he worked full-time. Balancing the two was demanding, he said.
“We do have families, kids, and then you have to go to class for like four hours in the afternoon,” Miranda said. “It was definitely tiring, but it was worth it.”
After completing his program and becoming a journeyworker HVAC technician, Miranda climbed the ranks to superintendent.
For those interested in learning a trade, Miranda recommends researching local employers and checking their career pages for apprenticeship openings. Magnolia has an upcoming job fair on Nov. 18 in Laurel. The company’s apprentice, Luis Soto Cossio, won first place in plumbing at the CraftMasters competition. He will represent the academy at the National Craft Championships in Denver next Spring.
Laura Bjorn, talent development manager at JCM Associates, a commercial mechanical contractor based in Upper Marlboro, also attended the competition to support one of the company’s plumbers.
“You can go from being an 18-year-old high school kid with nothing to making $100,000 in four years if you get your license,” Bjorn said.
Bjorn said JCM recruits heavily from regional vocational schools such as Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring and Center of Applied Technology North and Center of Applied Technology South, career and technical education high school centers operated by Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
“The cost of a four-year degree has just ballooned, and students coming out of college aren’t always having better luck,” she said. “People in the trades are finding great opportunities because there is so much work right now.”
County officials say they are focused on ensuring that Prince Georgians benefit from the economic expansion.
“We can’t obviously guarantee, but I know that our county executive and the team has prioritized local hiring,” Harris said.
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