Ironworkers Training Course
What is an
Ironworkers Career really like?
Working Conditions
for Ironworkers
Interest and Temperament
What is
expected of Ironworker Apprentices?
What is an Apprentice?
Certification
Certification Examinations
What can I expect of an Ironworkers Apprenticeship Program?
Are You Ironworker Material?
What is the Ironworkers Union?
Requirements to Enter an Ironworkers Apprenticeship Program
So What Do Ironworkers Actually Do?
Structural Ironworking
Reinforcing and Post Tensioning Ironworking
Ornamental Ironworking
Rigging and Machinery Moving
Welding and Burning
Advancement Opportunities
Ironworkers Apprentice
Local 764 - Training Application
What is an Ironworkers Career really like?
Being a Union Ironworker provides great job satisfaction and plenty of opportunity—that is if you’re not afraid of work!
Working Conditions for Ironworkers
Most ironwork is done out of doors and can be carried on year-round except in very severe weather. In many cases, however, there is indoor work that is coordinated to correspond with bad weather. Safety devices such as nets, safety belts, and scaffolding are used to reduce the risk of injury and there is a great deal of climbing, balancing, and reaching.
Interest and Temperament
If you receive satisfaction from tangible results and like to work
to meet close tolerances and rigid standards, then you have what it
takes to be an Ironworker. Because of the nature of the work, an
Ironworker cannot be afraid of working in high places and must also
have an acute awareness of the danger to themselves and others. Of
course, as you work on the job you will gain strength and
ability—think of it like getting paid to work out at a health club!
What is expected of Ironworker Apprentices?
- Complete cooperation and willingness to learn
- Regular school attendance
- Dependability on the job
- The ability to work as part of a team
- The development of safe work habits
- Perform a day’s work for a day’s pay
- Be drug and alcohol free
What is an Apprentice?
Apprentices have a long history dating back to ancient Greece when
young workers entered a term of service, now called indentureship,
to a skilled tradesman to learn his craft. Things are much the same
today. Currently, an apprentice is an employee who learns a skilled
trade through planned, supervised work on-the-job, while at the same
time receiving related technical classroom instruction. Apprentices
are required to sign an indenture with their Joint Apprenticeship
Committee/Trade Improvement Committee that spells out the
requirements and expectations of an apprentice Ironworker.
Apprentices are taught the proper use, car, and safe handling of the
tools and equipment used in connection with their work and, of
course, the important skills necessary to become a successful
tradesperson.
Apprenticeship is paid work-based training combined with
post-secondary education. An apprentice spends approximately 80% of
their time learning their skills on the job (under the direction of
a highly skilled journeyperson) and approximately 20% of their time
in the classroom setting.
While Apprenticeship programs can range from three to five years in
length most, however, are four years. When an apprentice finishes
their program, they are required to write a completion exam, in
order to receive their Certificate. Once they have received their
certificates they become known as a journeyperson and will earn the
full journeyperson wage.
Apprentices earn while they learn! An apprentice will start out
making 80% of a Journeyperson’s wage for the trade they are
learning.
The bottom line is – apprentices gain valuable skills that will
provide them with long-term, financially successful and personally
rewarding career. What more can you ask for?
Certificate of Apprenticeship, Certificate of Qualification, and
Interprovincial Endorsement—also known as “Red Seal”—are commonly
referred to in the trades as your “ticket”. The Interprovincial
Standard Endorsement is often called a : “Red Seal” because it is
identified as a Red Seal sticker on the Certificate of
Apprenticeship or Qualification.
What does having a “ticket” do for your career? Being a certified
Ironworker identifies you as a highly skilled worker, someone in
demand by employers and someone who is paid an excellent wage.
Certification
When an apprentice finishes their entire program—including all
required workplace and in-school training—they are required to write
a completion exam. Upon successful completion of their program and
writing of the completion exam, the apprentice is awarded their
Certificate of Apprenticeship, as well as their Certificate of
Qualification and, if applicable, the Interprovincial Standard
Endorsement, also known as Red Seal. The apprentice is now
considered a qualified, highly skilled journeyperson.
Certification is a lot more than just a piece of paper.
Certification increases earning potential and employment options,
and, in the case of Red Seal trades, makes it possible to work in
any province or territory across Canada.
Certification Examinations
The completion exam is most often written on the last day of the
final level of in-school training. The exam to acquire the
Certification of Apprenticeship and Certificate of Qualification is
usually written upon completion of the final level of in-school
training. In most cases, the exam will be arranged so that the
entire class will write as a group in their college or training
centre. In all examinations, the pass mark will be 70% and the time
limit for the exam is 3 hours.
While working on-the-job and acquiring skills, apprentices are a
regular part of the work force that contractors and co-workers rely.
But remember that apprentices are also required to attend
Ironworking school and complete the prescribed courses related to
the trade in order to complement their on-the-job training.
Apprentices will receive an evaluation about every 6 months to
determine if they are learning the craft. If on-the-job or school
work is not satisfactory, they may be dropped from the program or
sent back to repeat that segment of training. If, however, the work
is good they will receive a pay raise. That’s right, pay raises
usually occur every 6 months.
What can I expect of an Ironworkers Apprenticeship Program?
Most Ironworker apprenticeships lasts 3 or 4 years depending on the
Local Union Requirements. An ideal schedule provides equal training
in structural, reinforcing, ornamental, welding, and rigging. The
actual length of training for each subject may vary depending on the
predominant type of work available in the local area.
Apprentices are required to receive at least 204 hours of classroom
and shop instruction during every year of training. The subjects
taken in the shop and classroom complement the hands-on training
received in the field. The subjects include blueprint reading, care
and safe use of tools, mathematics, safety issues, welding and
oxy-acetylene flame cutting.
Are You Ironworker Material?
If you possess the following qualities and are looking for a career that will maximize your potential you may be ready to join the “cowboys of the sky.”
- Do you like to be able to see the work you’ve done at the end of the day?
- Do you take pride in providing quality work that meets demanding standards?
- Do you like to work as part of a team?
- Do you like to work outdoors?
- Are you willing to do physically demanding work that requires you to use your mind too?
- Would you like to earn a respectable wage while going to school to learn new skills and perhaps even a college degree?
- Are you interested in a career rather than “just a job” ?
Do you enjoy new challenges?
An Apprenticeship Training Program in Ironworking will provide a way
to achieve the success you’re looking for. With Ironwork you can
climb high –literally and figuratively!
What is the Ironworkers Union?
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and
Reinforcing Ironworkers Union, AFL-CIO, is a proud trade union whose
roots go back to the 1890’s. Members of this union have worked on
nearly every major construction project you can think of – The
Golden Gate Bridge, The Sears Tower, The World Trade Center and the
World Trade Center recovery effort, to name a few.
Some people confuse Ironworkers with Steelworkers. Ironworkers are
members of the Building and Construction Trades and Heavy and
Highway Department. Ironworkers work on outside projects erecting
buildings and bridges and other related work. Steelworkers work in
steel mills which produce the steel.
The union provides many benefits and support for its members. These
benefits include the advantage of working under a collective
bargaining agreement that brings bigger paychecks, better health and
retirement benefits, more secure jobs, and safe working conditions.
According to Labour Statistics, Ironworkers earn well above the
average income for construction trades. Of course, what you will
actually earn depends on the collective bargaining agreement of your
Local Union.
Requirements to Enter an Ironworkers Apprenticeship Program:
- Minimum age of 18 years
- High School Diploma, G.E.D., or equivalent as specified by the Local Training committee.
- Good physical condition—The materials used for Ironworking are heavy and bulky so above average physical strength is necessary.
- Agility
and a good sense of balance are also required.
Drug and alcohol free
So What Do Ironworkers Actually Do?
Ironworkers Do It All!!!
You may think that Ironworkers only erect buildings and bridges, but
ironwork is a multi–faceted trade. Most Ironworkers do more that
one type of ironwork and each has its own challenges and required
skills. The following list is a sample of the type of work that
Ironworkers perform:
- Structural Buildings and Bridges
- Reinforcing and Post Tensioning
- Ornamental
- Rigging and Machinery Moving
- Welding and Burning
- Amusement Equipment and Rides
- Architectural and Structural Pre cast
- Bank Vaults and Doors
- Canopies
- Conveyors
- Detention Facilities (Jail Cells)
- Doors—Metal and Roll-Up
- Drilling Platforms—Offshore
- Geodesic Domes
- Metal Buildings
- Overhead Cranes
- Plant Maintenance
- Towers
Structural Ironworking
Have you seen workers walking around on the steel framework of large
buildings under construction? Talk about climbing high! Those
daredevils are Structural Ironworkers. Their job is to unload,
erect, and connect fabricated Iron Members to form the skeleton of a
structure. Structural Ironworkers work on the construction of
industrial, commercial, and large residential buildings, as well as
on towers, bridges, stadiums and prefabricated metal buildings. They
also erect and install pre-cast beams, columns and panels.
Reinforcing and Post Tensioning Ironworking
Have you heard of the term “rebar” If you have, you may know that it
is Reinforcing Ironworkers who fabricate and place these steel bars
in concrete forms to reinforce concrete structures. Concrete in
which reinforcing steel rods that’s rebar to you and me) have been
embedded is widely used in building construction. Rebar is placed on
suitable supports and is then tied together with tie wire.
Reinforcing Ironworkers have to carry the heavy steel bars from one
point to another quite frequently, so don’t think you can slack off
in the workout department! As we move into the 21 st Century, rebar
is also fabricated out of composite material—not steel. But that
doesn’t matter, Ironworkers still install it. Reinforcing
Ironworkers also install Post Tensioning Tendons (cables). These
cables are placed in concrete forms along with the reinforcing
steel. After the concrete is poured and hardened, the Ironworkers
stress the tendons to span greater distances between supporting
columns. Reinforcing Ironworkers are employed wherever reinforced
concrete is used in the construction of such structures as
buildings, highways, drainage channels, bridges, stadiums and
airports.
Ornamental Ironworking
Ornamental Ironworkers install metal windows into masonry and wooden
openings of a building. They also erect the curtain wall and window
wall systems that cover the steel or reinforced concrete structure
of a building. Some refer to these systems as the “skin” of the
building. Windows, curtain wall and window wall systems are usually
fabricated out of extruded aluminum shapes and may have panels of
glass, metal, masonry or composite materials consisting of different
colors. As an example of this type of work, the Ornamental
Ironworkers of Chicago erected the curtain walls that cover the 110
story steel structure of the Sears Tower office building. In
addition to working on the skin of a building, Ornamental
Ironworkers also install and erect metal stairways, cat walks,
gratings, ladders, doors of all types, railings, fencing, gates,
metal screens, elevator fronts, platforms and entranceways. A
variety of materials are used in fabricating this type of work, for
example, aluminum, steel, bronze and composites. This type of work
is fastened to the structure by bolting or welding. Ornamental
Ironworkers are commonly referred to as “finishers” and are employed
in construction of large commercial, industrial and residential
buildings.
Rigging and Machinery Moving
Rigging is an integral part of the Ironworking trade. Structural
Reinforcing and Ornamental Ironworkers both do this type of work.
Any Ironworker that does rigging must have knowledge of fiber line,
wire rope, hooks, skids, rollers, proper hand signals, and hoisting
equipment, as well as have comprehensive training on safety issues.
Ironworker Riggers load, unload, move and set machinery, structural
steel, curtain walls , and any other materials or work falling under
the jurisdiction of the Ironworker. This work is done using
equipment like poser hoists, cranes, derricks, forklift and aerial
lifts, or by hand, using a series of blocks and tackle.
Welding and Burning
Structural, Reinforcing, Ornamental and Rigging Ironworkers all
perform welding to secure their work to the structure. Welding and
Burning equipment are considered “tools of the trade.” Almost every
construction project on which an Ironworkers works, requires these
essential skills. In order to become proficient in these tasks, the
Ironworker apprentice and /or Journeyman learns how to burn and
weld. Upon completion of the training, the Ironworker student will
have the opportunity to be tested to become a certified welder. This
designation meets the Canadian Welder Bureaus welder codes normally
specified by the jobsite engineer.
Advancement Opportunities
A career in Ironworking provides the opportunity to follow your
drive, skills, and interests up the ladder of success. As a matter
of fact, an apprentice today can become the foreman, superintendent
and contractor of tomorrow. Once an apprentice advances to
journeyman status, the ambitious tradesperson doesn’t need to stop
progressing. As you improve your skills, supervisory positions like
foreman or superintendent can become available. And, other
opportunities like becoming an apprentice instructor or taking an
active role in union leadership are available for those who enjoy
working with others.
Of course, advancement depends on the merits of the individual, but
there is really no limit for those who are motivated to move up the
ladder. According to the survey 90 % of the top officials of
construction companies replied – presidents vice-presidents, owners
and partners—began their careers as apprentices.