IRONWORKERS:
International
Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers
LOCAL: LOCAL UNION
97
AREA: British Columbia and Yukon
ADDRESS: 2415 Columbia
Street
Vancouver, BC V5Y 3E8
PHONE: (604) 879-4191
PHONE: (toll-free) 1-866-Local97
FAX: (604) 879-1110
E-MAIL: info@ironworkerslocal97.com
WEB SITE: www.ironworkerslocal97.com
Skills of the Trade
Ironworkers work in the field on new construction, demolition and industrial maintenance. Ironworkers from Local 97 erect the structural steel, place reinforcing steel for concrete, cover the skyscrapers with curtain wall (the exterior skeletal skin filled with glass),and place the pre-cast concrete girders for projects such as elevated light rapid transit - our Skytrain. Ironworkers also do the heavy rigging for machinery, as well as splicing, repairing, inspecting and reaving of wire rope rigging.
Ironworkers build the bridges, skyscrapers, dams, industrial plants as well as smaller steel structures, such as warehouses, shopping malls, pre-engineered light steel buildings and transmission towers.
Ironworkers climb the structural steel like monkeys and pack heavy loads of rebar on their shoulders.
Ironworker means a person who rigs, welds, burns, rivets, bolts, drills, fits, fabricates or otherwise handles structural shapes and plates in the erection, demolition, repair or routine maintenance of steel structures, such as buildings, towers, cranes, and bridges, and is involved with placing or moving machinery, curtain wall, window wall, tilt-up, column cladding, architectural metal, the detailing, placing, post-tensioning, pre-stressing and tying of reinforcing steel or cable including the unloading and handling of all such material in the field for work as is usually performed by a journeyperson Ironworker
Length of Program: 3 years
Workplace Hours: 4,200
In School Hours: 300
Six month mandatory Entry Level Trades Training Course must be completed prior to becoming a Registered Apprentice.
Apprenticeship and Training
The Ironworkers Local 97 Apprenticeship and Training program started in 1956. It was the first formal Ironworker training program in North America, and the curriculum developed in and by Local 97 was adopted by the International and is used today throughout North America.
The Apprentices, or "punks" start their training with 6 months combined classroom and practical training. They receive extensive instruction and certification in numerous safety prerequisite courses required on most industrial sites.
Essentially, apprentices are given a brief introduction to all aspects of the trade. They are then required to work 4500 hours in the field with two 5 week additional classroom sessions. To complete their apprenticeship, they must write and pass the Inter-Provincial Red Seal examination developed by the Federal Government to become a Journeyman Ironworker.
Apprenticeship and/or Training Co-ordinator(s):
Arne Johansen, Co-ordinator
Ironworkers Trade Improvement Committee
c/o Local 97 (see above)
PHONE: (604) 874-6010
FAX: (604) 879-1110
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