Washington's new football/ soccer stadium is about a year away from opening, but it has already seen its first victory. No, it wasn't the USA upsetting Italy in a World Cup soccer match or the Seahawks trouncing the Raiders in a playoff game.

The victory was meeting the goal of having 15 percent of the labor hours on the new stadium and exhibition center done by apprentices- men and women from our community who are learning a skilled trade.

Hundreds of apprentices have been working alongside experienced mentors to learn trades such as carpentry, ironworking, masonry, painting, plumbing and electrical. And they're doing an outstanding job. Stadium construction is on schedule, on budget and meeting every benchmark for quality.

The apprenticeship program isn't just about successfully constructing two new facilities-- it's about changing people's lives. Men and women from diverse backgrounds are experiencing tremendous opportunities as apprentices. In addition to learning a valuable trade for life through classroom education and on-the-job training, apprentices are earning good wages and enjoying benefits like health insurance and pension programs.

The Public Stadium Authority (PSA), created by voters in 1997 to oversee the construction and operation of the new stadium and exhibition center, is proud of the successful apprenticeship program and the men and women who have participated in it. We are also grateful to our partners in the program for making it a success.

Meeting the apprenticeship goal was the result of strong commitment and cooperation by three important organizations: First & Goal, Inc., the company formed by Seahawks owner Paul Allen to participate as the PSA's private partner; Turner Construction, general contractor for the stadium and exhibition center project; and the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council, the AFL-CIO division representing the interests of labor at the job site.

At the beginning of the project, First & Goal voluntarily set the goal of 15 percent apprenticeships on the project. The members of the PSA board readily embraced the target and adopted it as an official part of the project.

The signing of a project labor agreement, which guaranteed union participation without work stoppages, brought the extensive skills and resources of labor organizations to the apprenticeship program. This ensured that apprentices would learn firsthand from the most skilled workers in the region.

When Turner Construction was selected as the general contractor for the project, it went to work with subcontractors and unions to make the goal a reality. Throughout the project, the PSA and our partners have closely monitored the number of apprentices working on site and worked closely with the subcontractors and the unions to ensure that 15 percent of labor hours are completed by apprentices.

By combining the stadium and exhibition center project with an aggressive apprenticeship goal, we have leveraged the unique public-private partnership to enhance the construction industry in our region. Literally hundreds of skilled workers will emerge from the apprenticeship program and contribute to the local economy.

More importantly, we are providing valuable opportunities and job training to people who might not otherwise have access to them-women, people of color and the economically disadvantaged. The results are impressive-over 27 percent of all apprentice hours have been logged by people of color, and women have performed nearly 14 percent of all apprentice work.

The successful stadium and exhibition center apprenticeship program should serve as a model for other large construction projects. We have proven that a complex project can successfully employ apprentices and remain on time and within budget. In fact, the productivity of workers on the project, including apprentices, is remarkable. Turner Construction reports that the new stadium has the highest productivity of all their construction jobs in the entire country.

Even though the first official stadium event won't happen for another year, we have already scored our first win-as have hundreds of apprentices. Let's take time on this Labor Day to celebrate all these victories.

Bob Dilger is a member of the Public Stadium Authority Board of Directors and former executive secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council. He started his career as an apprentice painter.