The latest company to join the SEAA/NCCER Ironworker Craft Training Program is Shelby Erectors Inc. in Davie, FL., which recently completed training to become authorized to provide training and assessments for reinforcing ironworkers.
The Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) in partnership with NCCER is creating a network of Ironworker Training Units and Assessment Sites around the country.
“This program is intended to make high-quality Ironworker training available to a wider marketplace,” said Tim Eldridge, craft training and assessment coordinator for SEAA and president of Education Services Unlimited.
While SEAA members benefit directly by raising the knowledge and skill level of their employees, the construction market also benefits by providing an entry point for new workers looking to join the industry.
NCCER’s 2015 Construction Craft Salary Survey indicates that ironworkers earn in excess of $57,000 annually, while crane operators, riggers and related crafts also earn competitive wages. “Potential income, training, and job opportunity all go hand-in-hand in attracting a new generation to this field,” said SEAA executive director Tom Underhill.
“Shelby Erectors, Inc. is thrilled to be a new SEAA/NCCER Ironworker Craft Training Center and Assessment Site,” said company president Jennifer Nix. Shelby Erectors’ training program is unique in that it will focus on the skills specific to reinforcing steel construction for cast in place concrete structures. They are the first reinforcing steel erector to participate in the program; other companies are structural steel erectors.
“The SEAA/NCCER Ironworker Craft Training Program will encourage our employees to better themselves in our industry and elevate our profession as a whole. We have already had a number of our employees eager to start the training. They see the direct benefits it affords them. Greater knowledge and skill means opportunities to advance in our company and to earn more money. For us as their employer, it means offering our customers a professional workforce that is safe and productive.”
