Ironworker Jamie McMillan speaks at the second annual Young Women's Conference hosted by the District School Board of Niagara, encouraging young women to explore the skilled trades. Two hundred high school girls from across Niagara participated.
Janet Dukic, Local 1, Inspires Other Women
Read her story of how she found the job of her dreams here.
Women Apprentice Welders Complete Grueling 140 Hour Training Course
April 17, 2014
Dick Zampa, Jr., state apprenticeship director, recently announced the completion by a dozen women apprentices of a 140 hour welding training course. Known as the “University of Iron," the training center in Benicia, California, was location for the course. The 12 women attended the classroom and hands-on training during nights and weekends between February 24 through April 5, Zampa said. Their training focused on Orientation and Arc Welding, and included measurement, layout, fit up, Oxy-Acetylene Torch, and Grinder, along with Stick and Wire Feed welding.
All the training sessions were conducted by union instructors who volunteered their time. The classes were held on Friday nights, and all day Saturday and Sundays.
The apprentices were successful in passing the classroom tests, Zampa said, with all the students receiving at least one welder certification, while several earned multiple weld certifications. Their completion of the course means that the apprentices are now eligible to enter into the Iron Workers Apprenticeship Program and be given credit for work successfully completed during the six week-long course.
The training was funded by the Iron Workers Union and the union contractors that jointly administer the program.
View a story from KGO-TV San Francisco.