Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 Training Center

Organized Labor

Scott Broder, Lead Instructor
What’s the best part of the job? Watching the students when the light bulb comes on. These days you just keep throwing a lot of information their way. When I was an apprentice, it was just one thing at a time. The students these days are into multi-tasking. They can be texting with three different people on the computer while they're listening to music and doing their homework. And they accomplish those things. They are so used to being constantly bombarded at a fast pace that you have to throw information at them at the same pace they are used to. Tonight I’m teaching the code class. There is so much different equipment, and a lot of it proprietary, that they can't address it all in the code. Instead, the code may specify to install according to manufacturer’s listing. So we have to teach students how to read instructions and understand the installation guide. They can’t just memorize it. Instead, we teach them how to understand the intent of the code, how to utilize the resources that exist, and how to use their judgment.