Sheet Metal Industry Resource Alliance Created

For years, three organizations, International Training Institute (ITI), the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) and the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT), have collaborated to provide support, education, information and other resources to the sheet metal and air conditioning training community.

Simply known as "the Funds," ITI, SMOHIT and NEMI determined a need for brand consistency and ease-of-use for their members (which include sheet metal journeymen and apprentices and general contractors), who may not even realize all three organizations work together. Therefore, they have formed the Sheet Metal Industry Resource Alliance (SMIRA).

ITI, NEMI and SMOHIT, under the umbrella organization SMIRA, work together to ensure that today's sheet metal workers are the best-trained, highest-quality and most safety-conscious technicians in the building trades industry.

"Each of SMIRA's three arms provides a distinct area of support for our members," said James Shoulders, executive administrator for ITI, SMOHIT and NEMI. "Especially in economic times such as these, it's important our members understand all of the services and support we provide and how ITI, SMOHIT and NEMI complement one another."

Each organization that comprises SMIRA offers unique services. ITI provides apprenticeship and advanced career training for union workers in the industry at more than 180 training facilities (JATCs) throughout the United States and Canada. It offers a standardized sheet metal curriculum and is jointly sponsored by Sheet Metal Workers International Association and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractor's National Association.

The training offered by ITI works hand-in-hand with NEMI, a not-for-profit organization established in 1981 to identify emerging markets and employment opportunities for the sheet metal industry. NEMI works to develop programs to capitalize on those opportunities as well as offer certification programs through their affiliations with the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau and the International Certification Board for HVAC technicians and supervisors.

The final organization that comprises the three funds under the SMIRA umbrella is SMOHIT. This organization's mission is to develop and promote health and safety resources for more than 123,000 members of the sheet metal industry, thereby creating a safer, injury-free workforce. SMOHIT was created in 1986 to address issues of asbestos exposure through screenings and education and has since expanded its mission to include health and safety training products, health and safety training curriculum, and health and safety services. SMOHIT works directly with ITI to offer the training programs.

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www.sheetmetal-iti.org

www.nemionline.org

www.smohit.org