The Training Center is pleased to host Regional Training Director Lupe Ortiz for an introduction to Advanced Certification for Tile Installers certifications and a hands-on workshop for ACT #9 Gaug
The International Apprentice Contest took place on September 23-24 in Boston, Mass. Seventy-five of the top apprentices in the International Union competed to earn the title of International Craft Champion in the following crafts: brick, pointing-cleaning-caulking, stone, tile, marble, terrazzo, cement, and plaster.
This year the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers' and International Masonry Institutes' International Apprentice Contest will take place September 23-24 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. This contest draws the BAC's top apprentices from the U.S. and Canada to compete for the title of International Champion in each of the BAC's trades: brick, cement, tile, marble, terrazzo, plaster, pointing-cleaning-caulking/restoration, and stone.
On July 15, this year’s final pre-apprenticeship session ended. Many pre-apprentices come to this program with little or no knowledge of the trade, or construction industry, and we teach them the basics to begin to grow a career. They’ve spent the last six weeks working hard, both physically and mentally, to learn the very basics of what it takes to become a bricklayer or restoration specialist.
Recently, we had the opportunity to share our craft with a couple of groups of high school juniors, seniors, and graduates who participate in the Minnesota Trades Academy. This program tours local union trades’ training centers, where the students spend the day getting their hands dirty, experiencing a brief taste of what it is to be a member of each trade.
Our current pre-apprentices are reaching the midpoint of their six-week training. These first weeks have gotten students acclimated with using a trowel, building necessary muscle-memory, and reading a tape measure and level. Their primary focus has been on developing trowel handling and mortar manipulation skills, laying block to a line, and building pyramid leads.
On April 30th, the Training Center hosted our local apprenticeship contest. Four apprentices earned the opportunity to compete in the upcoming regional contests. On June 11th, the North Central Regional Apprentice Contest for Pointer-Cleaner-Caulkers was hosted at the Southern Ohio-Kentucky Regional Training Center in Batavia, OH. On June 18th, the Bricklayers' Regional Apprentice Contest was hosted at the District Council Training Center in Addison, IL.
June 6th marked a first for the Training Center. We rolled out our first successful one-week Tile Finisher pre-job class. The new format gets candidates acclimated with the bare basics of becoming a Tile Finisher: moving material, using a variety of tools for cutting tile, mixing different types of grouts, and the process of applying grout and washing tile.
We've also begun our final six-week Brick Pre-Apprenticeship of the year. Our ten pre-apprentices began the process of getting familiar with moving/stacking block, spreading mud, and laying to the line.
We had a great competition for brick and PCC, all 1-3rd year apprentices came to find out who has the best hands in the business! With the top two candidates in each trade heading to Regionals this June.
