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ITI Pushes Through During the Lockdown
The International Training Institute showed commitment and perseverance when it took its courses online during the COVID-19 lockdown.
By Robin Brunet
In March, the International Training Institute (iTi) was busy providing a full roster of Train-the-Trainer courses to American and Canadian instructors at training facilities across the United States when governments imposed the COVID-19 lockdown measures.
But instead of being stymied by the shelter-in-place orders, the Virginia-based iTi unhesitatingly switched its entire curriculum to online learning, and the signatory sheet metal workers that comprise its instructor pool continued to gain the skills they needed to train a new generation of talent.
Anyone who has been involved in developing online learning courses will attest that a delivery shift of this scale doesn’t come easily, especially in an industry in which so much training consists of fieldwork.
But Michael Harris, iTi’s program administrator, says everything is running smoothly. “We are currently offering 11 week-long classes and five more are scheduled for the end of the year, all of them using live instructors,” he said. “We’ve also launched evening distance learning classes on various topics for members who are employed during the day.”
This was in addition to the self-paced online learning catalogue that iTi already had in place, with classes ranging from Trimble Total Station tutorials to foreperson training.
The iTi is jointly sponsored by SMART and SMACNA, and its Director of Research, Development, and Technology Ronald McGuire says the organization has always enjoyed positive labor-management relationships. “We have a long history of collaboration, and because we’re able to find out what contractors are doing in the east, in the west, and in other countries, we’re able to advance our curriculum—including the online classes,” he says.
iTi caters to over 73,000 journey-level workers and approximately 14,000 apprentices who perform work in architectural sheet metal, Building Information Modeling, HVAC, roofing, industrial welding, and other industry sectors. The organization provides and maintains training and retraining programs, conducts Train-the-Trainer programs, develops and distributes training materials, and investigates and monitors changing technology and specialty fields in order to meet evolving industry demands.
Even prior to the pandemic, the iTi was determined to stay ahead of the curve and spent years developing and implementing self-paced online learning modules. “More recently, we delved into online courses taught live by instructors,” Harris says.
The benefits of shifting online were readily apparent. In 2019, McGuire told Harris that he wanted to shorten the software class durations in the iTi’s brick and mortar Las Vegas training facility from five to three in-person days. This would reduce the need for instructors to commute from different parts of the continent. “We used CAD learning software to make this happen, which includes several hours of online video content on a number of Autodesk products,” he says. “In addition to less commuting for instructors, we realized the amount of money saved by going online would give iTi more opportunities to expand in the long run.”
And then came March, when the COVID lockdowns kicked iTi’s exploration of remote learning into high gear. “We scrambled to develop webinars and distance learning classes to replace the scheduled in-person classes,” Harris says. Inperson courses were reworked into five-day, online webinars with two two-hour sessions held daily.
It took a mere three days to convert the first workshop. “We’d already been using online platforms, the material was there, so all we had to do was ensure that everyone was comfortable using the technology,” Harris says.
Tim Myres, administrator of Local 104 and the Bay Area Industry Training Fund in San Leandro, California, notes that the four different training facilities he presides over as a JATC administrator were ready to go online within several weeks. “We worked intensely with instructors to develop their online skills, and they practiced on each other,” he says.
But what about the quality of the classes? Harris points out that distance learning’s strengths and weaknesses were quickly revealed. “Computer classes involving AutoCAD, BIM, and other technologies are great online because under normal circumstances the instructors deliver the class in front of a projection screen anyway,” he says.
On the negative side were courses like welding. “We couldn’t figure out how to deliver the hands-on portion effectively,” Harris says. “The skill of welding absolutely demands an inthe-shop setting. So, we had to cancel these classes, and we can’t wait to return to them.”
McGuire adds, “Our 3D scanning and robotic tool courses are hands-on by nature and simply can’t be transferred to the online realm effectively.”
iTi intends for the necessary hands-on instruction to resume as soon as the pandemic is under control. Otherwise, “Maybe we can teach theory online for some of the classes and augment them with videos,” McGuire says.
The advantages of online have outweighed the disadvantages, and Myres points out that tweaking the content is possible due to Local 104’s outstanding group of instructors. “We’re tweaking constantly, and I’ve gotten into the habit of jumping into classes unannounced to solicit feedback from our apprentices,” he says. “They really drill down into what works and what doesn’t.”
Myres credits the iTi for providing the Local with the needed tools and equipment to complete the training. “Thanks to the Institute, we were able to purchase iPads for all of our apprentices,” he says, referring to a reimbursement program for JATCs that gets devices into the hands of apprentices in the latter years of their program. This ensures everyone is working on the same platform, which makes it easier for instructors to manage their classes.
One of the many beneficiaries of the iTi’s online component is Michael Aguon, 35, a father of three who joined Local 104 in 2017 and is a service technician at Environmental System Inc. in Santa Clara, California. “The in-person courses I took were great for building my skills, to the point where it was noticed by my colleagues,” he says. “However, the online component is just as effective in its own right. I’ve learned an amazing amount in a short time, helped along by the fact that I can replay the instructional videos again and again at my choosing.”
Aguon is confident that the online learning he will receive for the remaining two years of his apprenticeship will propel him further towards his goal of “rising in the ranks.”
“I got into this industry because of my father-in-law and his son, and they’re both impressed by the quality of instruction I’m receiving,” he says.
Moving beyond the pandemic, McGuire regards the iTi’s online curriculum as the perfect complement to advances the Institute is making in other areas of instruction. “For example, in our quest to stay on top of technology, we’re getting deeper into virtual reality and currently offer virtual reality for aerial lift training as well as HVACR service training,” he says. “Our students grew up as gamers, so the infusion of tech makes our trade enticing.”
At the end of the day, and despite the challenges imposed by the lockdowns, Harris remains impressed by the way the iTi expanded its online presence. “Strange times provide strange opportunities, and COVID threw us headlong down the distance learning path,” he says. “Not all of our online offerings will be retained when the pandemic ends, but many components will remain and strengthen our service abilities. We’re proud of how everybody has pulled together to make this happen.” ▪
Robin Brunet’s journalism has been published in over 150 magazines, newspapers, websites, and other media across Canada and the United States since 1982. He is also the best-selling author of two books: Red Robinson: The Last Deejay and Let’s Get Frank, as well as the upcoming The Last Broadcast.
