Associated Builders and Contractors announced Oct. 7 that it has named John Mielke as its senior director of apprenticeship. The former ABC Wisconsin chapter president will provide strategic direction, transformational leadership and innovative education solutions to ABC’s 67 chapters, 23,000 members and their apprenticeship trusts nationwide.

In this key role, Mielke will lead education programs that develop construction’s next generation of craft professionals, including government-registered apprenticeship programs with Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 compliance requirements and flexible, competency-based and market-driven education methodologies. He will also defend the principles of merit-shop construction before regulatory and legislative bodies and represent ABC before the media, external agencies, corporations, partnerships, trade associations, and regional and national workforce groups.

“John has been a champion of construction education for more than 30 years at ABC’s Wisconsin chapter, which boasts one of the association’s most ambitious and successful apprenticeship programs,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “He’s the ideal leader to help ABC chapters’ 800 existing education programs — including more than 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs across 20 different occupations — deliver value to the contracting community. And he will help ABC members continue to build their own innovative, merit-based craft education programs to address a workforce shortage that currently tops half a million.”

Mielke’s career at the ABC Wisconsin chapter spanned 32 years, beginning as apprenticeship coordinator in 1992 and culminating with 12 years as president of one of ABC’s largest chapters. He grew the chapter’s membership to more than 1,000 and its government-registered apprenticeship program to 2,400 apprentices annually in 13 trades. Under his leadership, the chapter achieved major legislative victories protecting worker choice, including repealing Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law, passing right-to-work legislation and banning government-mandated project labor agreements. He was named an Icon of Construction by the Wisconsin Daily Reporter in 2019.

“When I joined ABC of Wisconsin 32 years ago, I was an apprenticeship manager,” Mielke said. “Fast-forward to today, and ABC of Wisconsin’s apprenticeship program is now one of the largest in the country, so this is a full-circle moment for me. I look forward to taking on this new challenge to grow ABC apprenticeship programs nationally.”