International Training Institute Welcomes Two to Field Staff
Joe Potesta and Craig Reehten were selected for two positions on the field staff of the International Training Institute, the education arm of the unionized sheet metal, air conditioning and welding industry.
Potesta will serve on the welding team, working to educate instructors and training directors across the country, as well as with accredited test facilities in the Northeast welding region. Reehten will provide curriculum support and training to educators at the training facilities across the United States and Canada, in addition to working on ventilation verification and indoor air quality initiatives.
Potesta, a second-generation sheet metal worker, was previously the director of training at Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 in Indianapolis, Indiana and has been active with the local for more than two decades. In addition to an associate degree in applied science from Ivy Tech Community College and a bachelor’s degree in education from the National Labor College.
He holds multiple industry certifications, including Certified Welding Inspector/Weld Supervisor, Infection Control Risk Assessment, OSHA Outreach Trainer and as a first aid and CPR-certified trainer. For the past several years, Potesta has been a consultant for ITI as an OSHA instructor.
Reehten has been a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 in St. Louis, Missouri since 2004 after serving a decade in the U.S. Navy. After working as a foreman and testing, adjusting and balancing technician and supervisor, Reehten was hired by Local 36 to become an apprenticeship program instructor.
He earned an associate degree from Southwestern Illinois College and maintains industry certifications, including CWI and ATF Welding Supervisor and Test Supervisor, as well as certifications in air balancing, indoor air quality, ICRA and OSHA. In 2021, Reehten was elected vice president of Local 36.
