Ottawa renews responsible bidder requirements for National Apprenticeship Week

The Ottawa City Council placed an update on file Tuesday to its responsible bidder requirements for city-run projects.

Its responsible bidder requirements haven’t been updated since 2010, and updating them came in conjunction with National Apprenticeship Week.

Andy Waeyaert, a representative from the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, said this requirement establishes clear objectives and standards contractors must follow in order to work on taxpayer-funded projects.

“The purpose is to make sure the city is only hiring professional, competent contractors for high-quality work,” Waeyaert said. “They assure safe quality construction for your projects.”

Waeyaert said it also allows the city to require business registration in Illinois and update apprenticeship standards to help with workforce development inside the city.

By apprenticeship, Waeyaert means programs that allow those without college degrees to work while they’re learning and earn skills equivalent to or greater than a bachelor degree. Apprenticeship usually takes about 7,300 hours of classroom and job training. He said graduates from Labor Management’s apprenticeship program earn an average of $58,000.

“Over the course of their careers, construction apprentices will return $11 in economic and social value per dollar put into training,” Waeyaert said.

Andy Moreno, a member of Local 150 Operating Engineers, said he’s a graduate of the apprenticeship program. He attended the meeting with other members who participated in apprenticeship programs over the years.

“We’ve got Ryan Vandervort, who was raised in Ottawa, and is in the last year of his apprenticeship and to the left is his father, a member of the Operating Engineers,” Moreno said. “He lives here, his wife works here as a school teacher and he’s an instructor for our apprenticeship program.”

Moreno said down the line, apprenticeships have helped provide a workforce for Ottawa.

Mayor Dan Aussem said the plan right now is to pass the ordinance at the Tuesday, Dec. 6, meeting.