Category: SMWTCS news

 

 

It is time to catch up on our new staff who have joined us in the last year or so. There have been lots of staffing changes in the last year as our Training Centre entered its 30 years of operation and expanded into a second facility.

April Smith has been our Accounting and Financial Admin since November 2021. She brings over 20 years of diverse experience in many aspects of Office Management, Payroll & Benefits and Finance Administration in both union and non-union environments.

Donna Wallin, our Associate Registrar retired in June 2022 after seven years with the board. Thank you for your devoted work with apprentices over the years. Congrats on your retirement!

Matt Cleary joined the instructional team in December 2021. Matt previously worked at Austin Metal Fabricators for 6 years.

Jake LeBlanc, our long-term instructor of 20 years, transitioned to Head Instructor in January 2022. He replaced Bob Pascuzzi, our Chief Instructor for many years. We thank Bob for his years of service, dedication to student success and wish him all the best in his new ventures.

Jake has played a pivotal role in the vision and design for the new Valley school. He brings new energy leading the expanded instructional team while juggling the management of two facilities. Come to either training centre and you will see Jake running around – literally!

Scott Wilcox joined the instructional team in June 2022 within a contract position, then became full time in January 2023 with the opening of the new training facility. Scott previously worked at Spectrum Sheet Metal for 6 years. Scott and Matt were level 4 classmates and journeyed together in 2019.

We also welcomed Jake Watters and Troy Martell in 2022 as part-time instructors for math upgrading.

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2023 is off to a great start with two classes graduated so far this year, one at each facility!

2325V-A3 (Feb – Mar 2023) – Valley Our architectural sheet metal graduates were the first to graduate from our newly opened Valley location. Most of the architectural sheet metal graduates participated in back-to-back training and were our first students to train at the new Valley facility as well.

 

2324M-H4 (Mar – Apr 2023) – Main Our most recent graduating class had 18 students, an additional two students, so it was a busy class for Adam, the instructor.

Overall, our graduating classes are consistently passing the IP Exams and CofQ exams, demonstrating how well-prepared students are with their exceptional theoretical and practical training in class. Congratulations everyone for your hard work!

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2022 was quite a year for our training centre turning out 65 graduates! Well done everyone!

The sheet metal worker program finalized the Industry Training Authority (ITA)’s transition to the Harmonized Program in spring 2022. This meant that apprentices in the Current Level (CL) who had completed Level 1 training before April 2019 had to transition to the Harmonized level (HL), the program stream with re-aligned content beginning in April 2019.

This meant that the Training Centre had to complete training for apprentices in the Current Level program by the end of 2022 to ensure they graduated within that program prior to the Harmonized Level program taking effect. We strategically prioritized offering additional level 4 sheet metal classes in 2022, to wrap up the Current Level program.

Congratulations to all our architectural sheet metal
and sheet metal graduates in 2022:

2213-C4 (Jan – Feb 2022) — Current Level & Bob Pascuzzi’s final graduating class
2233-A3 (Apr – May 2022) — Architectural sheet metal
2234-C4 (May – June 2022) — Current Level
2242-H4 (July – Aug 2022) — Harmonized Level
2253-C4 (Sept – Oct 2022) — Current Level

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Our Technology and an Inclusive Workforce Project, a federally funded Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) is now in its 5th and final year. We continue to work with apprentices, journeys, contractors and industry partners to gain perspective of technological innovations, and shifting recruitment strategies to address labour market needs. We do so through ongoing stakeholder engagement, surveys, focus groups, etc.

Some recent highlights related to UTIP include:

• UTIP funded augmented reality welders have been transferred to the Valley facility for level 1 & 2 students, providing valuable practice welding time until the Phase 3 renovations of the welding department are completed.

• Hosted the Women in Sheet Metal UTIP Advisory Committee (June 2023) with discussions focused on leadership development within the theme of “Nothing about us, without us.”

• Congratulations to Nicole Hour (Boston Sheet Metal Ltd.) for winning the silver medal at the Skills Canada BC Provincial competition held at TradeX Convention Centre (April 2023). Nicole is a member of our UTIP Women in Sheet Metal Advisory Committee.

• In collaboration with the Construction Foundation of BC, our Training Centre hosted five women to learn more about the sheet metal trade while making “Carry Some” metal toolboxes (May 2023). Two participants were hired at Viaduct Sheet Metal following their experience. Congrats!

We are hosting the Annual UTIP Focus Groups in the upcoming weeks and have invited sheet metal workers and contractors to share what their first-hand experiences related to technology and an inclusive workforce. Watch for emails from Stephanie Pritchard, UTIP Project Evaluator to RSVP: s.pritchard@camdenconsulting.ca

• Sheet metal workers (June 21)
• Contractors (June 28)

We will also be launching the Indigenous People UTIP Advisory Committee and Newcomers to Canada UTIP Advisory Committee in the fall.

All SMWTC students are sent post-training surveys in the final week of training to provide valuable feedback that supports the UTIP project evaluation. Your input really makes a difference so please submit your responses!

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The Tradeswomen Build Nations conference was held in Las Vegas, NV in Nov 2022, and included workshops and panel discussions focusing on diversity and policy investments for women in the construction industry. The event also featured research and programs developed to enhance recruitment, retention, education, training, and career opportunities for unionized tradeswomen.

We would like to extend our thanks to SMART Local Union 280 team, Owin Baxter, Steve Davis, and Richard Mangelsdorf, as well as our members, Tara McDonald, Nicole Hour, Nicole Pasqualini, and Sheila Sadler, for representing our union at the largest gathering of tradeswomen in North America.

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SMWTC grand opening, 1992

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Our first Training Centre opened on October 19, 1992 within a leased building located at 4415 Dawson Street in Burnaby. This was the first industry funded private trades training centre in BC, opened in response to changing skillsets required by contractors to respond to the training needs of industry. Those early years started with a single intake of 16 students, many of whom are company owners and lead supervisors 30 years later.

In 2010, we purchased our current “Main” building located at 19077 95A Ave in Surrey and have offered two classes per intake at 250 students per year for the last 12 years. Over the years, we offered more intakes, added an afternoon shift and expanded our specialty training courses. We outgrew the space through increased demand for technical training in response to labour market changes, Skilled Trades Certification and the backlog of students brought on by the Covid pandemic.

The “Valley” building located at 5514 275 Street in Langley created opportunity to double our capacity, and we now offer four classes, two per facility each intake. Our increased capacity and expanded instructional staff have contributed to us continuing to provide exceptional technical training. We are the largest sheet metal training in BC, training over 350 students per year.

Our lucky number is three – 30 years of history with 3 Training Coordinators, 3 Chief Instructors and now in 2023, we opened our 3rd facility and now have 300+ students accessing technical training. 2023 is going to be a great year!

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After a two-year hiatus thanks to the pandemic, we are again hosting contests!

The Level 4 Apprentice Contest was hosted in April 2023 to assist us in identifying a potential contestant for the Canadian Contest (July) in Saskatchewan. Four individuals who had journeyed within the last two years participated as contestants: Well done everyone!

• 1st place – Henry Derksen (Century Plbg. and Htg. Ltd.)

• 2nd place – Troy Martell (Termel Industries)

• 3rd place – James Plett (City Sheet Metal)

• 4th place – Alexander Flaman (Piedmont Sheet Metal)

The SMWTC Annual Apprentice Contest on November 25th at the Main facility. We will send out an invite to all level 1, 2, 3 & 4 apprentices to participate in this event closer to the date.

Space is limited so if you are keen to be on the contestant list and don’t want to miss out, please email Astrid: astrid@smwtcs.ca

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With the opening of the Valley facility, we are again able to offer Specialty Training.
We are launching with Fan Service in October, offered for a low cost to SMART Local 280 members for $200.

Fan Service training dates for the first session are:

• October 10th & 12th, 4:30 to 7:30 October 14th, 8:00 to 3:00
• October 17th & 19th, 4:30 to 7:30 October 21st, 8:00 to 3:00

To register, please send an email to Astrid: astrid@smwtcs.ca

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Welcome to our Fall 2021 Newsletter.

Would you like to have your art work published in our Newsletter? We invite you to send your pictures to media@smwtcs.ca as well as post on our Facebook Page.

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View and download our Fall 2021 Newsletter:

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Check out a new digital campus tool for apprentices!

The College of the BC Building Trades website has been launched to help aspiring apprentices more easily explore trades careers and connect with opportunities. The website features online tools to assess skills and a learning portal, as well as connect directly with training schools and campuses across the province.

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