Veterans Graduate Apprenticeship, Ready for Second Career

Two members of the first class of SMART Heroes, the unionized sheet metal bridge from military life to a civilian career in sheet metal, welding and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, are set to graduate in November and January.

Joshua Buckley, 40, and Richard Quintana, 55, were members of the first SMART Heroes class, which began in August 2017. Upon graduation from the program, they entered the apprenticeship as second-year students at Western Washington Sheet Metal, the training center of Sheet Metal Workers Local 66, in Dupont. This means Buckley and Quintana will graduate the five-year apprenticeship in four years — Buckley in November, Quintana in January.

Both soldiers said they chose sheet metal because they enjoy working with their hands, as well as the comradery and benefits the union provides.

Buckley works in architectural, or decorative, sheet metal often used to make building exterior and interiors aesthetically pleasing. Quintana plans to work in HVAC service.

In order to graduate from SMART Heroes, participants completed a seven-week course to earn the equivalent of their first-year sheet metal apprentice training (224 hours). Upon discharge from service, these graduates may choose to enter any of the more than 140 SMART apprenticeship programs in the United States and be provided direct entry and advanced placement as a second-year sheet metal apprentice, including a high probability of obtaining second-year apprentice wages and benefits.

The program was created by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers; the International Training Institute, SMART’s education arm and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association, the contractors’ side of the unionized sheet metal industry. Using curriculum developed by the ITI, the three organizations then collaborated with Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 in Western Washington, its Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, SMACNA Western Washington and Helmets to Hardhats.

The first SMART Heroes program was launched in August 2017 in Washington and was established to provide free sheet metal industry training to active-duty U.S. military men and women who plan to enter the civilian life within the year, thereby assisting in a successful transition into the civilian workforce. The second location in Colorado Springs, Colorado began offering the same training in August 2019.