LANSING, MI — Imagine life without a plumber. Good plumbing is vital to a healthy life. Clean drinking water, a hot bath or proper irrigation for crops wouldn’t occur without good plumbers.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job opportunities should be very good, especially for workers with welding experience. Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters comprise one of the largest and highest paid construction occupations.
On March 18, 2009, the Career Readiness and Fitness Training (C.R.A.F.T.) students of the Lansing School District visited the UA Local 333 Plumbers & Pipefitters Training Center at the Lansing Community College (LCC) Tec Center. Students listened intently as instructor Tim Hicks explained the jobs available in the plumbing industry. He mentioned that a welder could make a good income anywhere in the country, however, the training and testing is extensive. The students were at the Tec Center to experience some “hands” on demonstrations in heli-arc pipe welding, oxy-acetylene torch pipe cutting and copper pipe soldering.
C.R.A.F.T. is a Pre-Apprenticeship Program that is designed for students interested in a Construction Trade. Classes are held at the high schools. Then the student may be able to advance to C.R.A.F.T. II at Hill, Lansing School District and local Construction Unions in the Lansing area are organizing these programs. High standards are used in the advancement through the program.
Apprenticeships—both union and nonunion—consist of 4 or 5 years of paid on-the-job training and at least 144 hours of related classroom instruction per year. Subjects to learn include drafting and blueprint reading, mathematics, applied physics and chemistry, safety, and local plumbing codes and regulations.
When a project ends, some pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters may be unemployed until they can begin work on a new project.
However, even when construction activity declines, maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement of existing piping systems, as well as the increasing installation of fire sprinkler systems, provide many jobs for pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.
