{"id":23604,"date":"2014-06-11T11:59:21","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T16:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/?p=23604"},"modified":"2014-06-11T11:59:21","modified_gmt":"2014-06-11T16:59:21","slug":"oklahoma-sheet-metal-workers-launch-innovative-development-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/oklahoma-sheet-metal-workers-launch-innovative-development-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Sheet Metal Workers Launch Innovative Development Program","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"125_DSC00197\"<\/a>
Local 124 Training Facility<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAt the training center for Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 124 in Oklahoma City, committee members and training director Trent London grew tired of hearing \u201cI\u2019m just a sheet metal worker\u201d as an excuse for apprentices\u2019 unprofessional behavior. To change the mentality, they sought out and hired consultant Nic Bittle.
\nSheet metal workers are professionals, and apprentices needed to start seeing themselves in that light. Bittle, who owns Workforce Pro, helps those not in managerial or leadership positions create an entrepreneurial mindset for better performance on and off the job.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to erase,\u201d London said. \u201cIt should be \u2018I\u2019m a professional, and I need to look and dress like one.\u2019 We want them to think about what they do today as having an effect on their ability to get hired.\u201d
\nThe idea: to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the apprentices and apprentice program and fill the need for professional development, which includes written and verbal communication in the workplace, personal appearance and personal finance and management. The program started with a pilot program in January 2013 and has evolved and continued since then. The goal is to have all apprentices participate through the years of their education.
\nTo start, Bittle spent two weeks researching the industry and visiting contractors and apprentices on job sites and in fabrication shops in the area. He identified four core competencies he felt lacked in the apprenticeship: communication, leadership, entrepreneurship and professionalism. To address these ideals, Bittle hosted a seminar at the beginning of the semester and followed up with a 24-part series of email lessons. Apprentices are required to engage in conversation about the topics addressed during the lessons, which are readdressed during a second seminar in the second half of the school year.
\n\u201cBecause I was the outside guy, the apprentices were willing to talk to me,\u201d Bittle said. \u201cMy hope is they implement it into their lives and use it. We\u2019re not building better buildings. We\u2019re building better people. They\u2019re going to be better when they turn out. But they\u2019ll also be better husbands and fathers. That\u2019s what gets me excited.\u201d
\nThe program is about to finish its first full school year, but it\u2019s still too early to tell exactly how much headway is being made with apprentices, London said.
\n\u201cOur committee thinks it could be a few years until they see a definite change,\u201d London said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard people say they\u2019ve gotten something out of it. It\u2019s something our committee, the contractors that employ these people, thinks [the apprentices] need.\u201d
\nThe idea for the program came directly from the members of the training committee who are also contractors. They found that although the work was good, apprentices lacked professional skills. During his research, Bittle found many apprentices felt the quality of their work should be the benchmark of their professional careers \u2013 not their attitude, communication skills or leadership qualities.
\nBittle introduced to apprentices the idea of a reputation score \u2013 how they are viewed from job site to job site, contractor to contractor.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re difficult on the job site, the next boss will likely hear about it. Everybody has a reputation score,\u201d Bittle said. \u201cYou have a reputation the minute you enter the union. And it\u2019s how you manage your reputation score. Their job is part of it, but so is their professionalism. You can\u2019t look up your score, but you\u2019ve got one.\u201d
\nBringing in Bittle was a way to allow the apprentices to speak and think freely, saying what they needed to say without worrying about what their instructors, coordinator or committee would think. Changes in the way the training center staff communicates with the apprentices have already been made based on Bittle\u2019s conversations with the students, London said.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s really opened us up to a lot more communication between the apprentices and the committee,\u201d London said. \u201cIt\u2019s given the apprentices more of a voice.\u201d
\nBecause of the success in Oklahoma City, the training center in Tulsa, Oklahoma also hired Bittle, who started the program there in January. In Tulsa, 90 percent of the apprentices are younger than 25.
\n\u201cThe younger generation\u2019s time is more valuable to them than their job or money. It wasn\u2019t like that for my generation. For us, it was all about the job,\u201d said Arthur Winters, part-time training director for Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 270\u2019s training center in Tulsa. \u201cI\u2019m hoping this will help them prepare for their futures and approach their lives a different way. If we can make a difference in even a few lives, it\u2019ll be well worth the effort.\u201d
\nNot every apprentice is a fan of the program, but for now, London and Bittle are fine with that.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a handful that thinks this is junk. I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m the last person on the planet who understands integrity and personal finance. We have really good kids. Not everyone is a fan of it, but I\u2019m OK with that,\u201d Bittle said. \u201cIt\u2019s a four-year thing. It\u2019s a long process.\u201d
\n\u201cRight now, the plan is to keep this going, build the relationship and put this food-for-thought into their heads to put more value in their careers,\u201d London said.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the training center for Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 124 in Oklahoma City, committee members and training director Trent London grew tired of hearing \u201cI\u2019m just a sheet metal worker\u201d as an excuse for apprentices\u2019 unprofessional behavior. To change the mentality, they sought out and hired consultant Nic Bittle. Sheet metal workers are professionals, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"member_types":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOklahoma Sheet Metal Workers Launch Innovative Development Program - SMART Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/oklahoma-sheet-metal-workers-launch-innovative-development-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oklahoma Sheet Metal Workers Launch Innovative Development Program - SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the training center for Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 124 in Oklahoma City, committee members and training director Trent London grew tired of hearing \u201cI\u2019m just a sheet metal worker\u201d as an excuse for apprentices\u2019 unprofessional behavior. To change the mentality, they sought out and hired consultant Nic Bittle. 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