3 minute read
MY JOURNEY: JOE POTESTA
When I graduated high school, I did not have any thoughts about what I wanted to do with my life. Maybe I’d play sports and become a professional soccer player. I mean, keeping the goals realistic, and all. Instead, my father, who at the time was a business agent for Local 20 in Gary, Indiana, suggested I become an apprentice. I didn’t know what I was going to do otherwise, so I thought I might as well take Dad’s suggestion.
I still wanted to go to college and play soccer. In 1994, I was accepted into the apprenticeship and into the Chicago Art Institute—and I started playing for an inaugural soccer team. I was very busy. Everything was so demanding, and I had no time to do much with friends and family, so I thought I would follow the path of the apprenticeship. I didn’t think I would like it, but around the time I was 19 years of age I thought, ‘You know, I kinda like this money!’
My father ended up moving to Indianapolis to become the business manager. I decided to stay in the Gary area and do things on my own while my family moved on. Every time I would go visit Mom and Dad, I would participate in family outings, and that is when I met my wife. I was a third-year apprentice and ready to settle down. I transferred Locals from Gary to Indianapolis, married my wife, and finished the apprenticeship in 1999. I felt like I was pretty good at what I was doing, but I wanted more. I wanted to make an impact.
Throughout my apprenticeship, I coached a lot of high school soccer. As a matter of fact, I was the head coach of the men’s soccer team at one of the largest schools in Indiana. I loved teaching. I loved seeing men and women become successful. I earned a sense of pride knowing that in some small way I impacted their lives. I thought, ʻHow can I do that for the sheet metal workers?’ An instructor position opened up at Local 20, and I applied. I didn’t get hired. In 2006, another appenticeship instructor position opened up, and this time I was successful.
I was very ambitious. I loved every minute of teaching. Eventually, I becamse the Director of Training and was tasked with creating and implementing new curriculum for the apprenticeship program. What a rewarding experience. I believe teaching takes a special person, a compassionate person who wants to dedicate their all to helping others succeed. I wanted to go to another level and become a mentor for new instructors. At Local 20, we always had new instructors come in and I loved training them and seeing them become successful in their classroom environments. I wanted more.
A position opened up with the International Training Institute. I applied and humbly accepted the duties of heading up the new welding curriculum and being part of the welding team that allows me to be an assessor and an instructor.
I think the biggest challenge I have faced in the sheet metal industry is nepotism. My father was a leader in our industry for 40 years, and when that happens, you are constantly judged or compared. However, this always made me stronger. Having a mentor like that to look up to is not something everyone gets. This industry was built on generations, and I was part of that movement. ▪
Help Spread Awareness About Careers in Sheet Metal
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The SMART-SMACNA Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force has launched a recruitment initiative to help address the industry's labor shortage. The Brand Ambassador program attracts new recruits to the sheet metal trade by leveraging the positive experiences of apprentices, journeypersons, and other members of the industry who love the trade.
Brand Ambassadors spread the word about the advantages of SMACNA and SMART careers to their friends and family on social media. Anyone interested in being a Brand Ambassador simply uses the hashtag of our recruiting campaign, #MJMG, on their social media accounts. Exemplary Brand Ambassadors will receive $100 Amazon gift cards.
