IMI Cross Training Offers Members Opportunities
August - September 2002
 |
| IMI cross training programs
offer more career opportunities to BAC members at
all stages of their careers. This recent AAC coatings
class at IMI’s National Training Center was
well attended by apprentices, journeyworkers, and
instructors. |
BAC members can take advantage of IMI cross training
programs at all stages of their careers. Cross training
offers both craftworkers and contractors the potential
to increase work opportunities.
“It’s an approach that has a lot to offer
everyone,” says BAC President and IMI Co-Chair
John J. Flynn. “Cross training in other crafts
gives BAC members even more of an advantage in the marketplace,
and offers another strategy for growing the union masonry
sector. It’s also a good way for members to enrich
their careers.”
For the beginning craftworker, cross training presents
the full portfolio of BAC career choices. For journeyworkers,
it offers exposure to new job opportunities like cement
finishing, or new products like Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
(AAC).
IMI offers cross-craft familiarization to all pre-job
trainees at the National Training Center. During their
12-week program, they get exposure to BAC trades: brick/block,
tile, terrazzo, stone, marble, pointing/cleaning/caulking,
plastering, and cement work.
IMI’s National Training Center also complements
Local BAC training programs. When cement work in his
area pushed manpower needs to the limit, Local 4 New
Jersey Business Manager Jerry Della Salla sent pre-job
apprentices to IMI for a two-week cement familiarization
course after their 12 weeks of basic training. “Every
bit helps,” says Local 4 Apprentice Coordinator
Bill DeRenzis. “We wish everyone would take advantage
of it. Trainees really look forward to it, and they see
other things that IMI offers. It’s prestigious
to attend.”
 |
| Local 4 NJ brick apprentices
cap off their pre-job training with a two-week cement
familiarization course at the National Training Center. |
The Center also accommodates specific requests for cross
training or upgrading, like a recent refractory class.
Another key focus is keeping up on new products, like
AAC lightweight block. All levels of BAC members, from
apprentices to instructors, have taken advantage of IMI’s
AAC familiarization course. Local 4 Indiana/Kentucky
apprentice coordinator Jim Crum gained the confidence
to set up programs in his Local’s ten schools. “I
also got a good feel and respect for the other parts
of the trade,” he says.
IMI is in the process of expanding its cross training
programs to better serve BAC Locals and contractors,
says Apprenticeship and Training Director Steve Martini. “Familiarization
in all the crafts is going to be the norm.”
|
