Online Learning Offers Flexible Career Advancement Opportunities for Members

Susie Sundblom was among the first group of members to take the online version of Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA). The training program, offered by the International Masonry Training and Education Foundation (IMTEF) through CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, covers the specialized procedures for hospital construction and renovation work.  

Sundblom took the class with a small group of colleagues from BAC signatory contracting company Diverzify, which felt that understanding proper infection control procedures was critical to bidding and winning more hospital work, especially amidst the pandemic. 

“It’s been great,” says Sunblom, a tile setter with BAC Administrative District Council (ADC) 1 of Illinois. “I live an hour from the training center, so it’s a lot more convenient for me to log onto my laptop from my dining room table than it is to commute after a long day at work. This is a strong direction for the Union to move toward to avoid having to shut down training. It also helps us as workers minimize our risk, particularly when we’re already rotating around to different job sites with different crews for work.”

With the pandemic changing the world and how we approach everything, Anthony DiPerna, National Director of Apprenticeship and Training, believes that making its programs more convenient for members is a top priority. 

“At least for the time being, we can no longer come together in large groups, so online learning offers a safe and effective alternative,” DiPerna says. “Beyond that, it gives our apprentices and journeyworkers—many of whom have busy lives and families to care for—more flexibility to pursue their training when it works for them.”

For members like Sundblom, who is loading up on training now, that advancement is key. Having weathered the 2008 recession, she wants to do all she can to improve her employability, which includes obtaining Advanced Certifications in Tile (ACT) and supervisor training, both of which will help build her skills and work opportunities.

Thanks to efforts IMTEF, local training centers and JATCs, Sundblom and other members can continue to take IMTEF’s popular Supervisor/Foreman Certification Program (SCP) online.

“We’re taking activities we typically do in the classroom and converting them to an online format to keep the students engaged,” says Dave Wysocki, IMTEF National Safety Director and North Central Regional Training Director. 

Wysocki is a part of a core team of certified instructors and training directors working to convert IMTEF’s curriculum for online delivery. “For supervisor training, each student will be mailed a set of blueprints in advance of the class, and we’ll use virtual breakout rooms to pair people together for an exercise on planning and managing the job.” 

Class sizes will not only be kept small to ensure students get the individualized attention they need, but also be held over several days to create a more manageable schedule.

In addition to SCP and ICRA, IMTEF offers OSHA 10 and 30 online. It also will continue to expand its virtual learning opportunities to support member learning. 

For more information or class availability, contact your local training center or JATC.