More than 150 skilled welders will be needed by the end of the year
FAIRFAX, Va. – When the Savannah River Site, a nuclear reservation 25 miles east of Augusta, Georgia, began hiring workers five years ago, welders in the Southeast sharpened their skills and went to work. Today, two additional sites are taking from the same pool of nuclear-grade welders: Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, also known as Plant Vogtle, in Waynesboro, Georgia and the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station (VC Summer), located 20 miles northwest of Columbia, South Carolina.
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Upcoming large projects to create jobs for local welders, HVAC fabricators
FAIRFAX, Va. – The Atlanta area is in the middle of a drought, and it has nothing to do with this season’s snowfall. With major construction projects on the horizon – such as the new Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons stadiums, the renovation of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Vogtle nuclear power plant – Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 85 is seeking qualified apprentices.
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Three-week course put hundreds to work, grew local from 125 to 415 members
FAIRFAX, Va. – Two years ago, Mark Lemon took over as training coordinator and business manager at Local 399 in Aiken, SC and inherited one of the biggest challenges of his career. With the start of the 198,344-acre Savannah River project on the horizon, as well as other large projects in the region, hundreds of certified welders were needed, and it was up to Lemon, and his 125-member local, to fill the positions. To do this, Lemon called on the International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal and air conditioning industry, to help staff and supply two three-week concentrated welding programs with the goal of turning out certified welders and putting them to work right away.
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Three women talk about career, need for more females in sheet metal industry
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – When it comes to sheet metal welders, the adage “anything you can do, I can do better” isn’t a phrase of competition or ego. Women welders in the industry are the minority – by far – but a few of them are looking to show their male counterparts that when it comes to their craft, the question of who is the most talented is a toss-up.
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19 Apr / 2011
Puerto Rico training program emerges to plan for future
Contracts, partnerships and persistence keep Local #41 on the educational track
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – During this recession, planning for the future of the sheet metal and air conditioning industry has been a heavy focus for the industry’s International Training Institute (ITI).
When times are tough, it’s easy to just tread water and wait it out, but that approach won’t help the industry grow and ensure it’s ready when times are good again. Instead, the ITI recommends its Joint Apprentice Training Centers (JATC) continue to train an appropriate number of new apprentices each year.
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10 Mar / 2011
Annual International Sheet Metal Competition turns out winners from Washington, Missouri, Wisconsin and California
Journeyman from Wisconsin wins new Dodge truck from Towbin Dodge
LAS VEGAS – More than 275 sheet metal apprentices and their families from the United States and Canada ventured to Las Vegas March 6-10 for the Annual International Sheet Metal Competition hosted by the International Training Institute (ITI) for the sheet metal and air conditioning industry.
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Experience doesn’t equal skills when it comes to certification exams
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – To operate a vehicle legally on a U.S. roadway, a driver’s license is required, and it has to be earned with time logged on the road, a written test and a live skills test. In the sheet metal industry, welding is under similar scrutiny, with skills tests and certifications necessary for a welder to be qualified to work most jobs.
