As the economy remains slow in many parts of the country, some Ironworker Local Unions are using this time to train foremen for their signatory contractors.

IMPACT and the National Training Fund have been conducting train-the-trainer courses across the United States and Canada. The objective of these courses is to ensure Local Unions are prepared to train their members to be skilled and effective foreman for their signatory contractors.

The 24-hour foreman training course may be conducted for three consecutive days, during eight three-hour evening sessions, or on three consecutive Saturdays. Feedback from course participants and their contractors has been very positive.

Most recently, Ironworkers and contractor foremen from Local Unions 25 Detroit, Michigan and 55 Toledo, Ohio participated in a Foreman Training course held at the Local 25 Union hall. Contractors represented included C&A Re-Steel, C. L. Rieckhoff, Douglas Steel, Midwest Steel, and Quality ReSteel, Inc.

The Foreman Training course is not only one of the Ironworkers' Key Performance Indicators, but this course can help signatory contractors improve their performance - helping put more Ironworkers to work.

For more information on the Foreman Training Program, contact Harvey Swift or Rick Sullivan at the IMPACT office at (800) 545-4921.