Three Army soldiers and one Marine Corps veteran completed the 45th class of SMART Heroes — a concentrated, seven-week course, equivalent to a first-year sheet metal apprenticeship — March 24 at the Western Washington Sheet Metal training center, 2725 Williamson Place, in DuPont.
Graduates included Sgt. Keegan Wohltman, Spc. Sean Rallos and Sgt. Jesse Auger, from the U.S Army; and Cpl. Trevor Gore, veteran with the Marine Corps.
In order to graduate, participants completed 224 hours of classroom, project and shop work to gain basic skills and familiarity with the trade. Upon discharge from service, graduates may choose to enter any of the 148 International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) apprenticeship programs in the United States and be provided direct entry and advanced placement as a second-year sheet metal apprentice, including a high probability of obtaining second-year apprentice wages and benefits.
The program — created by the International Training Institute (ITI), SMART and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) — helps participants learn a new skill set, a bridge to a civilian career. Currently, the Western Washington SMART Heroes location retains 64 to 68% of its graduates to the trade.
Featured speakers during the graduation included Justin Bourgault, business representative for Sheet Metal Workers Local 66; Josh Moore, ITI field representative; and Darrell Roberts, veteran and SMART assistant to the general president.
The curriculum for the SMART Heroes program was created by the ITI, the education arm of the unionized air conditioning and welding industry. The ITI, together with SMART and SMACNA, developed the program in collaboration with Sheet Metal Workers Local 66, SMACNA Western Washington, and Western Washington Sheet Metal training center.
The first SMART Heroes program was launched in August 2017 in Washington and was established to provide free sheet metal industry training to active-duty U.S. military men and women who plan to enter the civilian life within the year and recent veterans, thereby assisting in a successful transition into the civilian workforce. The second location in Colorado Springs began offering the same training in August 2019.
Additional information on the SMART Heroes program can be found at www.smart-heroes.org or by calling the International Training Institute at 703-739-7200.