The International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal industry, has hired Dan McCallum of Downingtown, Pennsylvania as a member of its field staff and an architectural specialist.
A graduate of the Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 19 apprenticeship program, McCallum was introduced to architectural sheet metal on the first day of his apprenticeship in 1985 and maintained a love of the skill, art and craftsmanship. Upon starting at The Warko Group in 1991, he helped to develop the mechanical and architectural sheet metal divisions of the roofing company. He also gave back to his local union by serving on committees for the Central Pennsylvania Joint Apprenticeship Training and Labor and Industry committees for nine years.
With 31 years under his belt, McCallum left The Warko Group as vice president, estimator and project manager to take the position with the ITI.
“I really do believe I can change the industry in the architectural field,” he said. “As soon as I read the description of the position, I said, ‘That’s me.’ I identified with it. Anyone who knows me knows the passion I have for what I do – for my work and my union.”
Where specialties such as welding, air flow, and heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) are hidden behind walls, architectural sheet metal is the most visible to the general public. Almost every major city has a large architectural sheet metal example such as the new U.S. Bank Stadium (home of the Minnesota Vikings), the 9/11 Museum in New York City and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Architectural sheet metal can also be found in restoration and renovation projects, roofing and siding.
Although it was completed years ago, McCallum said the roofing project at Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, located near the Philadelphia International Airport in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania as one of his favorite projects.
“Whenever I drive past an area, I get excited because I’m driving past a landmark I helped create,” McCallum said. “Every time I drive down to the Philadelphia airport, that project still stands, and I’m reminded of the pride we had in that project.”
Nearly 10,000 apprentices are registered at more than 150 other training facilities across the United State and Canada. The ITI is jointly sponsored by SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association) and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA).
ITI supports apprenticeship and advanced career training for union workers in the sheet metal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), welding and industrial, architectural and ornamental, and service and testing, adjusting and balancing industry throughout the United States and Canada. Administered by James Page and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, the ITI develops and produces a standardized sheet metal curriculum supported by a wide variety of training materials free of charge to sheet metal apprentices and journeymen.
