TRAINING

The better our skills, the more we work!

You won’t find another union more committed to making sure that we supply our employers the very best-trained people in the marketplace.

Our training program is geared to the needs of our members, so most programs take place in the evenings or on weekends. With only a few exceptions, all training and upgrading classes are free to members.

Local 488’s training centre, located on our 8-acre northwest Edmonton headquarters, is one of North America’s finest. We’ve invested $10 million in the welding and pipe shop buildings and equipment, rigging high line & crane and in the classrooms in our existing facilities.

We’re in the process of expanding our welding centre from 22 to 38 bays, and we’ve begun building a brand new, three-storey $11 million addition to our training centre that will not only be used to train and upgrade more members, but someday (with government approval) will also be capable of apprenticeship training.

We invest heavily in training (our annual budget for welding training alone is over $500,000) because the better our members are trained, the more often they’ll work, and the more competitive our employers will be in the marketplace.

Here’s a sample of our wide range of training programs:

(Most) certification for weld testing
(Most) recertification and certain types of TIG/MIG upgrading
Steamfitter/Pipefitter upgrading
HDPE Welding
Fiberglass Piping
Soldering and Brazing
Valve repair
Medical Gas
1st Class gasfitter upgrading
Blueprint reading
CSTS
Basic computer
Rigging

We have full video conferencing facilities, so we can provide high quality training to members in Fort McMurray, and so members in Alberta can take part in training delivered from other Locals in both Canada and the US.