CDA Helps UA Instructors Strengthen Copper Joining Skills Across Skilled Trades
Key Highlights
- 43 UA educators completed CDA’s copper joining course this year
- 10 hands-on copper assemblies gave instructors practical soldering and brazing experience
- Training the trainers extends CDA’s technical resources to apprentices across more than 300 UA locals
MCLEAN, VA — The Copper Development Association Inc. (CDA) recently participated in the United Association’s annual instructor training program at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, providing 43 UA educators with 20 hours of instruction focused on copper tube and copper alloy joining methods, troubleshooting and teaching techniques.
The United Association (UA) represents plumbers, pipefitters, refrigeration technicians, sprinkler fitters and related trades through more than 300 local unions in the United States and Canada. Its instructor training program prepares educators who teach apprentices and other tradespeople through local apprenticeship and continuing education programs.
CDA’s five-day course emphasized soldering, brazing and other copper joining methods, combining classroom instruction with hands-on shop exercises.
Hands-On Training Builds Copper Joining Expertise
Participants were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with 22 educators attending the morning session and 21 attending the afternoon session. CDA’s training team worked alongside two active UA instructors to provide both technical instruction and practical teaching experience.
Participants worked in teams of two to complete 10 copper assembly modules, giving them hands-on experience with copper tubing, alloys, joining methods and common problems that can arise during installation.
“Education matters because the trades need people who are committed not only to developing technical skills, but also to becoming excellent educators,” says Mike Belanger, Project Manager, CDA. “When we prepare instructors to return to their local training programs with strong resources and practical experience, that knowledge reaches far beyond the people in the room.”
Training Gives Instructors Tools to Teach Apprentices
The course is designed to prepare participants to explain and demonstrate soldering and brazing techniques when they return to their local training programs. Participants have varying levels of teaching experience, ranging from established instructors to newcomers to the profession.
The combination of technical instruction, teaching resources and practical exercises gives instructors tools they can apply in their own classrooms and shops.
The week concluded with a teaching exercise in which participants took turns acting as instructors and apprentices during a copper soldering project. The exercise reinforced the course’s focus on helping educators explain, demonstrate and guide apprentices through copper joining procedures.
Instructor Training Multiplies Skilled Trades Education
The UA has trained instructors since 1955 through a program that includes trade-specific instruction and professional teaching courses. UA instructors can complete 200 hours of instruction over a five-year period as part of the organization’s instructor certification process.
Training coordinators can pursue additional certification after completing another 120 hours of instruction. The broader program includes the annual event in Ann Arbor, along with regional and online courses.
For CDA, the instructor-focused approach creates a multiplier effect. Instead of training individual apprentices directly, CDA provides educators with knowledge and resources they can use to train multiple classes of apprentices and tradespeople at their local facilities.
“Training the trainers is what makes this program so valuable,” says Belanger. “These educators leave with materials, resources, and experience they can take directly back to their own trade schools. They are prepared to carry that knowledge forward.”
CDA and UA Continue a Longstanding Training Partnership
CDA’s involvement in UA instructor training dates to the early years of the program, when its predecessor organization, the Copper and Brass Research Association, participated in instructor training.
This year, three CDA representatives—Marcus Elmer, Harold Moret and Mike Belanger—collaborated with two UA instructors to deliver the copper joining course.
The annual training program also reflects the partnership between the UA and Washtenaw Community College, which provides facilities for technical education and fast-track training programs.
For CDA, continued participation provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships with the educators responsible for teaching copper installation and joining techniques throughout the skilled trades.
To learn more visit copper.org.