Trade school apprentices battle for "Golden Hammer".Hammers banged, sanders buzzed and screw guns A screw gun is a tool used to install sheetrock, also known as drywall. Screw guns look like a normal clip although they have a "nose" as apposed to a chuck. The nose holds an interchangeable 1/4 inch shank bits. Most commonly used is a 1" #2. whirred in the Labor Technical College's basement workshop off Hudson Street Hudson Street can refer to:
Twenty-seven apprentices in five trades worked furiously, negotiating their want for perfection with the crunch of the clock. Just outside the work area, instructors from the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College looked on along with scores of visiting trades-minded high school students, scouting scouting: see Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts. scouting Activities of various national and worldwide organizations for youth aimed at developing character, citizenship, and individual skills. Scouting began when Robert S. contractors and tool company representatives. Though the aisles teamed with activity, the apprentices appeared unfazed un·fazed adj. Not fazed or disturbed. , their energy focused on the tasks at hand. "Break time. Fifteen minutes," an instructor yelled. The apprentices, competing for The Golden Hammer A golden hammer is any tool, technology, paradigm, snake oil, buzzword or similar whose proponents enthusiastically sing its praises. They predict that it will solve multiple problems, including some for which it is obviously not suitable. award and a combined $10,000 in tools, stepped back from their projects, many wiping sweat from their brows. It was 2 o'clock, nearly seven hours into a long day of competition in the trades they'd been training in for several years. After one last push, the instructors would call an end to all work and rate the apprentices' craftsmanship, choosing top performers in the four-year millwrighting, floor covering, interior systems and carpentry programs, and in the five-year cabinetmaking cab·i·net·mak·er n. An artisan specializing in making fine articles of wooden furniture. cab program. Instructors were judging the best of the best. The 27 contestants were drawn from the Labor Technical College's roll of 1,700. Contestants had the day to complete an instructor-assigned project in their trade and judged on quality, safety and speed. "This is New York, the only city in the world with a two-day cycle. You've got to be quick," said Elly Spicer, field representative for the NYC NYC abbr. New York City NYC New York City and Vicinity Labor Management Corporation, "These [apprentices] are the best and the brightest. The foremen and site managers of the future are being trained here now." The Labor Technical College's apprentice program combines 2,000 hours of jobsite experience per year with 160 hours of classroom time. The program is free of charge. "Basically, we're training people who will be doing this for a career. Who will raise their families and pay their mortgages through this type of work," said instructor Rob McAuliffe, who himself competed in the apprentice contest 15 years back. "This place can open a lot of doors for people." One such person is 31-year-old Heather Moore, who competed in the interior systems category. The only woman in the contest, Moore worked in food service before learning about the apprenticeship program from a friend. "A friend on my softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' team asked if I'd ever considered working in construction and I said I can't do that because I'm not a man," Moore said during her break, drinking cold soda to cut the sweat. "She told me about the Non Traditional Employment for Women program they had here and it went from there. It felt comfortable and now this is what I do and I'll do it forever." As the break ended and the workshop began to whir whir v. whirred, whir·ring, whirs v.intr. To move so as to produce a vibrating or buzzing sound. v.tr. To cause to make a vibratory sound. n. 1. once again, instructor Hubert McCabe reflected on the proceedings. "I teach an intro course and fourth-year courses, so I see [apprentices] on the way in and the way out," McCabe said. "Times are getting good again in Manhattan and if they work hard, [the apprentices] will make a living ... You don't get rich in this business, but if you work hard, you can provide." 2006 "Golden Hammer" Contest Winners: Millwrighting--John Amico Cabinetmaking--Joseph Helferich Floor Covering--Frank Toti Interior Systems--William Ryan Carpentry--Brent Walker |
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