IN MARCH, LOCAL 128 (Toronto) faced a dilemma when the Humber College instructor for advanced boilermaker apprenticeship classes went on medical leave. The instructor had been teaching two concurrent, eight-week classes. L-128 BM-ST Jim Watson and the lodge’s apprenticeship and training coordinator, Scot McMahon, had to consider canceling both classes unless a solution could be found. A cancellation would have delayed the apprentices’ progress toward becoming journeymen.
We were fortunate that Jonathan White, Assistant National Training Coordinator and member of Local 128, along with Harold Peter at the Northern Alberta Institute of Training (NAIT) in Edmonton stepped up to continue the classes. Jonathan kept the classes going until a longer-term solution could be found. Within just a few days of receiving word about the training situation, Harold traveled nearly 1,700 miles (about 2,700 kilometers) to Toronto. His extensive knowledge and experience, as well as his selflessness, has taught L-128 third-year apprentices not only the trade skills they require but also a lesson about making sacrifices when others are in need.
I’d like to offer a special thanks to both Jonathan and Harold, and also to Glen Gibson, chair for the Steel Construction and Hoisting Trades at NAIT, who helped coordinate Harold’s temporary absence from the school in Alberta.
Grant Jacobs
National Training Director - Canada
Edmonton, Alberta
