Glaziers Local 740 celebrated the grand opening of their new training center this month, offering an expanded training space for the architectural metal and glass workers.
The new Estacada facility has been in the works for more than 15 years, as members have gradually raised enough to fund the project.
“We finally got enough money to buy our own center, so we have something that’s ours as a local,” Glaziers Local 740 Apprenticeship Coordinator Craig Feely said.
The new building cost $2 million. Another $1 million was spent on finishes and equipment.
All of the equipment is brand-new, with more advanced technology than the equipment they used to train on, Glaziers Local 740 Business Representative Mike James said.
The Glaziers previously offered training for apprentices at Mt. Hood Community College.
“We outgrew that, and we needed something better. We appreciate the help they gave us, but our members really wanted their own building,” Feely said.
Though the local now has its own training facility, it will continue its affiliation with the community college, Feely said.
Beyond the excitement of gleaming new metal, the new equipment will improve the training quality and save money. A new VR welding simulator will einsure that apprentices have practice before using expensive metal. The local used to have to send students to Texas for part of their training, but now has the space and equipment to do that training in-house.
James said the new center is a work in progress.
“It’ll never be done. It’ll always be morphing and changing,” James said.
The local plans to add “the cage” next year. “It’s a three-story mockup that replicates a whole commercial installation in real time,” James said. “Everything a glazier does can be done on that.”
The cage will allow students to practice layout, fall protection, panel installation, caulking adhesives, and more.
The center will be used by apprentices and journeymen for core training, continuing education courses, test prep, and the Architectural Glass & Metal Technician (AGMT) Certification tests.
Local 740 currently has 55 apprentices, including 16 just starting their first year.
The local recently switched to a block training model, where apprentices come in for a full week.
Apprentices previously had to attend class in the evenings after work.
“They work a full day and then they’re tired, and then they’ve got to report to class for another four hours at night. It was hard on them,” Feely said. With the block training model, apprentices get a terms’ worth of training done in a week.
The Glaziers’ apprenticeship program is four years, with 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and more than 500 hours of class work.
