Training coordinators and instructors from all the Building Trades attended the third annual Apprenticeship Conference, hosted by the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI.
12 Insulation Industry International Apprenticeship and Training Fund (IIIATF) Steering Committee members attended the conference in late November 2018.
The conference’s opening speakers included Chris Haslinger, Chairman of the NABTU Standing Committee on Apprenticeship and Training; Brent Booker, NABTU Secretary-Treasurer; Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director of the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR); and Mark Crosswhite, Chairman, President and CEO of Alabama Power Company.
“We are training the next generation of the construction workforce at over 1,900 training centers totaling more than $1.88 billion, in Canada and the United States, annually,” said Booker, putting the size and scope of union apprenticeship training into perspective.
A vast majority of the conference involved breakout sessions, where attendees divided into smaller groups to hear presentations they felt would most benefit them and their union. Among the breakout sessions were Reaching/ Recruiting Young People; Online Learning; Social Media; Mentoring and Leadership; NABTU Outreach: ARPs/ MC3s and Programs for Veterans.
The Insulator representatives split up in order to attend all the small group presentations and collectively worked together and with representatives from the other trades to engage during the presentations.
"This conference is very beneficial, as it really helps us shape the training we do in the future,” said Local 14 Training Coordinator John Stahl. “I used some of the material taught about recruiting to a younger generation to alter my teaching approach to make it most effective for my JATC program.”
Instructors attending the 2019 IIIATF Joint Apprenticeship Conference this May in Arizona can expect to be educated on many of the items discussed at the NABTU Apprenticeship Conference.
Retired U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship Administrator Tony Swoope was the closing speaker. He addressed all attendees on implementing the changes in 29 CFR 30, which is the Equal Employment in Apprenticeship rules outlined by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The topic was of great interest to many in attendance and lasted for hours, as Swoope attempted to answer numerous questions, including some from members of the IIIATF delegation.
Thank you to the following IIIATF Steering Committee members who represented the Insulators Union at the NABTU Apprenticeship Conference: Local 1 Training Coordinator Terry Walsh, Local 6 Training Coordinator Rick Rothwell, Local 45 Instructor Gavin Dailey, Local 12 Training Coordinator Joe Rodgers, Local 14 Training Coordinator John Stahl, Local 16 Training Coordinator Bill Hodges, Local 17 Training Coordinator Bob McGuckin, Local 17 Instructor Shawn Craven, Local 18 Training Coordinator Todd Conn, Local 24 Training Coordinator Brian Cavey, Local 34 Training Coordinator Eric Houske, and Local 86 Training Coordinator Shane Hammock.