What You Can Expect at the Sheet Metal Training School

All Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 36 apprentices must undergo five years of classroom instruction while working on jobsites. Together, that equals a 10,000 hour training program – one of the most comprehensive in the construction industry.

First Year Curriculum

First year apprentices attend school at least 184 hours during their school year. Classes meet six days in succession and four sessions each year.

Apprentice subjects for the first year include:

  • 30-Hour OSHA Safety training
  • Applied Sheet Metal Mathematics – fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, and basic algebra powers, roots and scientific notation
  • Basic Sheet Metal Drafting
  • Geometric construction and orthographic projection
  • Sheet Metal Layout and Pattern Development
  • Basic layout, parallel line development, radial line development and triangulation
  • Sheet Metal Layout and Shop Fabrication
  • Hand tools and shop equipment
Second Year Curriculum

Second year apprentices attend school for 160 hours. They build on the skills learned in the first year by increasing their hands-on experiences and working with more complex lessons.

Apprentice subjects for the second year are:

  • Continuation of Sheet Metal Layout, Pattern Development, and Fabrication
  • Applied Sheet Metal Mathematics
  • Trigonometry
  • Architectural Sheet Metal Layout, Fabrication, and Installation
  • Oxy-fuel and Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Third Year Curriculum

Third and fourth year apprentices attend school for 160 hours each year. They build on the skills learned in the first and second years of their apprenticeship and begin the study of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning theory.

Apprentice subjects for the third year are:

  • Continuation of Sheet Metal Layout, Pattern Development, and Fabrication
  • HVAC Theory
  • Airflow – ventilation, heating and refrigeration
  • HVAC duct systems, and ductwork design
  • Blueprint reading, Shop Drawings, and Field Measuring
  • Shielded Metal Arc Welding, including mild steel and stainless steel
  • Gas Metal Arc Welding of mild steel
  • An Introduction to Computers
  • Sign Fabrication and Installation
Fourth Year Curriculum

Apprentice subjects for the fourth year are:

  • Customer Service and Supervisory Training
  • Applied Sheet Metal Mathematics and Computer Estimating
  • Industrial Sheet Metal – blowpipe systems and material handling
  • System Commissioning and Energy Management
  • Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing
  • Automatic Controls
  • Food Service and Kitchen Equipment – fabrication, installation, and replacement
  • Exhaust Hoods including Laboratory Hoods and Exhausts
  • Gas Metal Arc Welding Stainless Steels and Aluminum
  • Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Stainless Steels, Kitchen Equipment, Aluminum, and Exhaust Hoods
  • Plastic Welding
Fifth Year Curriculum

Fifth year apprentices attend school for 40 hours. They use the knowledge and skills developed over the past four years to design an HVAC system and complete special sheet metal projects.

  • System Design
  • Sheet Metal Layout, Pattern Development and Fabrication