Heat and Frost Insulators Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee
Organized Labor
Jessica Colins, Apprentice
You get a lot of exercise and you get to meet different people. You learn a lot on the job from the journeymen mechanics, and you get to make good money. Any girl could do it, but they choose not to for some reason. I've tried to recruit my friends. I have a few that are interested, but things are slow right now.
The hardest thing for me is metal work. Metal is a challenge. You have to learn the size insulation for each system, the tools to use, how to crimp and bead and make clean cuts that completely seal. I like it. Metal work is better than blanketing ducts, where you don't have to use your brain.
My mother's a carpenter. I was helping her out on a job, and the superintendent saw how hard I was working and recruited me.