Madison native takes leadership role with International Training Institute
FAIRFAX, Va. – The International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal industry, has named Madison, Wisconsin, native Carl Simons as its building information modeling (BIM) specialist and field representative.
Simons hails from Sheet Metal Workers Local 18, where he began integrating software into his sheet metal fabrication early on.
“BIM is the way of the future,” Simons said. “If we don’t train our members to use these tools, we are going to lose our market share. I believe you have to keep learning to move forward.”
A self-proclaimed life-long learner, Simons began giving back by becoming a part-time instructor and later, training coordinator at Local 18. Under his leadership, the local remodeled its training center to incorporate a state-of-the-art computer lab to focus on BIM technologies including AutoCAD, Autodesk Fabrication Suite, Navisworks, Bluebeam, robotic total stations and 3D laser scanners.
As the BIM specialist at ITI, Simons is tasked with researching, reviewing and learning new technology as it becomes available. Simons also acts as field representative for Region 6 covering Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and in Canada, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
He lives in Wisconsin with his wife, Beth, and two children, Molly and Lucas. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, snowmobiling, hunting and fishing.
More than 14,000 apprentices are registered at 148 training facilities across the United States 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. 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.
For more information about ITI and its available training curriculum for members covering sheet metal trade work, visit www.sheetmetal-iti.org or call 703-739-7200.
