Donation to help fund the unionized sheet metal industry’s SMART Heroes program
The International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal, air conditioning and welding industry, is honored to be recognized as a DeWalt Grow the Trades Grant recipient for its efforts to help current members and recent veterans of the United States military find their second careers in the industry.
With an estimated 500,000 open construction jobs unfilled, DeWalt’s Grow the Trades Grants aim to help close the skilled labor gap by supporting nonprofit organizations that are skilling, reskilling and upskilling tradespeople. Each year, the program awards funding and tool donations as part of a larger $30 million commitment over five years to close the skilled trades gap.
The ITI was selected as one of 166 organizations that are providing greater accessibility and resources for trades training.
The donation will be used to support the SMART Heroes program through the foundation of the same name and will help pay for instructors, materials, leases for space, etc.
The program — created by the ITI, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers and theSheet Metal Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA) — helps participants learn a new skill set, which can lead to a civilian career once they’re discharged from the military.
In order to graduate, participants must complete a concentrated seven-week course, equivalent to their first-year sheet metal apprentice training (224 hours). Upon discharge from service, these graduates may choose to enter any of the 150 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 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.
“DeWalt is immensely proud to support the ITI as it works to skill and reskill the tradespeople of tomorrow moving us closer to our shared goal of closing the trade skills gap,” said Frank Mannarino, president and general manager of DeWalt. “Funding educational programs and non-profits like the ITI connects more people to training, resources and opportunities that will lead to successful careers in the trades.”
To learn more about the DeWalt Grow the Trades Grant, recipients and updates for the upcoming application period, please visit DeWalt Grow the Trades.
