June 12, 2012

Piping trades apprentices test skills at United Association competition in Toronto

United Association Local 46 hosted a competition for apprentices in plumbing, steamfitting, welding, sprinkler fitting and refrigeration and air conditioning in Toronto last week.

The five winners — one per trade — will go to Ann Arbor, Michigan in August to compete against 30 other apprentices in the same trades from around the United States, said Vince Kacaba, director of training for local 46 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

“They have gone through regional competitions, east, west and central, and all the United Association locals have sent their best apprentices in to determine who is going to be the Canadian competitor at the competition,” he said.

Last week’s competition was for the Canada-wide District 6 of the UA.

The competition included work stations at UA Local 46’s headquarters and training centre on both sides of Warden Avenue north of Eglinton Avenue in Scarborough. On the east side, there were work stations for HVACR mechanics, steamfitters and sprinkler fitters, plus an area outside with a crane, where competitors were required to have a large piece of equipment hoisted into place. It also included displays from sponsors.

The west side included welding stations, plus an area designed to simulate a house, where competitors worked on washrooms.

“It acts as a check on our training, just to make sure that they’re capable of meeting the needs of our contractors,” Kacaba said. “It makes the client that we work for happier, because they’re getting high-quality product for the money that they’re spending.”

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA

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