A message from the Co-Chairmen
Joe Sellers Jr.  To meet the needs of our industry, we have developed one of the most thorough and comprehensive training programs in the entire nation.  Our Training Center utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to meet the changes in our industry, yet never forgetting that quality must prevail.  Our program develops skilled sheet metal apprentices and journeypersons who are competent in all aspects of our trade and are able to work safely without close supervision.Training highly skilled sheet metal workers is part of our heritage, something that was started in the early years of this century when we first included apprentices in our membership. We formalized that responsibility in 1937 when our first off-site training program began and set the standards for instruction and achievement.
Today, the program is governed by the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, a group of union and employer professionals who realize the need to create a steady source of skilled sheet metal workers. The cooperation between the group stresses that training will provide the skills the marketplace requires. It also indicates that hard work will be rewarded with good employment.

We also participate in the International Training Institute. This is a national organization that includes every Sheet Metal Fund in the country. They provide us with a wealth of training information and materials that comply with the highest standards of the industry.

Please let us know if more information is required about Local 19 or our programs. We welcome visitors to our Training Center and are always willing to sit and talk with prospective members and contractors.

Sincerely,
Gary Masino
President / Business Manager Sheet Metal Workers' Local Union No. 19
D. Robert Buccini The training program operated by the Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity (SMCA) and Local #19 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association is of the highest quality and therefore develops tradespersons who deliver the highest quality finished product.

Essential to the training offered by this Joint Apprenticeship Program is the partnership that exists between Local #19 and SMCA. Only through this partnership could a training program, regarded by many as the best in the country, develop and flourish.
This training program is the building and construction trades’ equivalent of a four-year college education.  Several Universities now offer degree programs that give significant credit for the courses taken through the apprenticeship program.

Just as graduate programs exist in the Universities we work with, there is extensive postgraduate training available for the journeyperson sheet metal worker.  Continuing education is necessary to keep current in the many special skills required in the sheet metal industry.  Upgrade programs are available in: Computer Aided Drafting; Testing Adjusting and Balancing of Air and Water Systems; Specialized Welding techniques including American Welding Society (AWS) certification and the latest Orbital Welding techniques; and many other specialty programs.

Local #19 and the SMCA recognize the value of a trained workforce. As a result, our SMCA Contractors remain confident that they will continue to deliver high quality products and services well into the future, even though our unorganized competition suffers from a severe shortage of skilled labor.  This confidence allows the customer the peace of mind required when planning a minor renovation or major new construction projects.

Sincerely,
D. Robert Buccini
Vice President, E.J. DeSetaCo., Inc.