Wis. Workforce Dept., National Guard, UA ink Vet Training Pact

MADISON, WISC. – Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Roberta Gassman and Colonel Kenneth Koon of the Wisconsin Army National Guard joined General President William P. Hite of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters in a ceremony Thursday, November 18, to announce a new career training initiative for Wisconsin veterans in the skilled trades. The ceremony was at Camp Williams in Wisconsin.

The three partnering organizations will sign a Memorandum of Agreement to make Wisconsin the first state in the Midwest and the third in the nation to host the UA-sponsored initiative, which gives veterans a head start in becoming apprentices and earning journeyworker status in the piping industry trades.

Veterans who have registered for the new training program, which begins in January 2011, attended the event. A UA instructor demonstrated the welding and torch cutting skills veterans will learn in the new training program.