The Ironworker Outstanding Apprentice Competition was held September 20-21, 2008 at the Ironworkers Local Union 401 Training Facility. The competition was hosted by the Ironworkers District Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity. The Outstanding Apprentice Competition allows local unions from the United States and Canada to demonstrate the quality of their classroom and hands-on training.
The International Ironworker Union spends more than $45 million annually on training in 175 training facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Apprentices spend a minimum of 200 hours annually in class to learn the various skills required of Ironworkers on job sites throughout the country. Training includes various courses in structural steel erection, rigging, blueprint reading, welding and torch cutting, reinforcing concrete, fence installation, architectural and ornamental erection, scaffold use, pre-engineered metal buildings, post-tensioned reinforcing systems and forklift operations.
The first day of apprentice competition included a written test along with welding, torch cutting, and instrument tests. On the second day, the apprentices competed in knot tying, block reeving, reinforcing tying, ornamental window assembly, and the 35-foot steel column climb.
Alexei Ogai, member of Ironworkers Local 5, Washington, DC, was named the winner of this year's Outstanding Apprentice Competition by Ironworker General President Joseph Hunt and New Jersey Senator and Ironworker District Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity President Stephen Sweeney. Ogai was among seventy participants who competed in the event. "The skill that Alexei has shown in each of these events is impressive. Knowing that the future of our proud union is securely in place with not only these young men as our future leaders, but each of the over 17,000 apprentices throughout the United States and Canada," said Hunt.
Ogai was accompanied by the following apprentices on the winner stand:
- 2nd-Alejandro Perez of Ironworkers Local 272, Miami, FL
- 3rd-Eric Cochrane of Ironworkers Local 118, Sacramento, CA
- 4th-Eric Rosa of Ironworkers Local 433, Los Angeles, CA
- 5th-Corey Fox of Ironworkers Local 395, Hammond, IN
Following the competition, the Ironworker Apprenticeship and Training Conference was held September 22-23. During the conference, Local Union coordinators, business managers, contractors and other labor and management professionals attended workshops and held discussions to help address apprenticeship issues affecting the different Ironworker regions throughout the United States and Canada.