Sheet Metal JATC San Diego

09/30/2026

ONE TRADE. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES.

October is Careers in Construction Month, and we’re putting the spotlight on sheet metal: one of the most diverse trades in construction.

We design. We fabricate. We weld. We install. We troubleshoot. From architectural metalwork to HVAC service, detailing, and testing and balancing, our work takes brains, skill, and precision.

Like working with your hands? Technology? Solving problems? There’s a place for you in this trade.

At Sheet Metal JATC San Diego, our five-year apprenticeship combines 8,000 hours of paid on-the-job training with 960 hours of classroom and lab instruction. Earn while you learn, receive scheduled wage increases, and develop skills you can build a career on.

Explore our program on our website and apply today. Link in bio.

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09/24/2026

This apprenticeship training center is amazing, right in the heart of Atlanta! Everything is so brand new. More than 100 attendees from the Sheet Metal Industry Institute Conference gathered to tour the facility.
They were very excited to share their new space with us. Their training program has 300 apprentices. The classes are held at night and are taught by 20 part-time instructors.

09/24/2026

Come and get yours!

🔥The new stickers are in.🔥

Come on by the office and grab yours soon.

09/23/2026

BUILT TO WIN. READY TO GROW.

Sheet Metal JATC San Diego Training Director Lorenzo Miles has joined more than 400 attendees in Atlanta for the inaugural Sheet Metal Industry Institutes Conference. The event, held at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center brings together the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) , National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) , and International Training Institute (ITI) .

Sessions are exploring indoor air quality policy, collaboration across generations, workplace culture, substance use and human performance, emerging technology, and new training tools. This afternoon, attendees will tour the SMART Local 85 JATC and TAB lab.

As we prepare to expand our training center in San Diego, Lorenzo is gathering ideas and resources to help us train more apprentices and offer more specialized instruction.

The conference theme says it best: Built to Win.

09/21/2026

THIRD YEAR: SKILLS SHOW

By the third year, the work starts to feel different.

You can read the plans with greater confidence. You understand the tools, materials, and systems. You are solving more problems and taking on work that once required someone standing beside you.

Your paycheck reflects that progress.

COMPENSATION
Annual taxable earnings: $60,072.00
Annual benefits package: $25,092.00
Total annual earnings + benefits: $85,164.00

More classroom training. More time in the field. More skills that contractors need.

Does getting paid to become more skilled, confident, and valuable sound good to you? Apply now on our website: https://smjatcsd.org/apply/

09/15/2026

THIS IS BIG NEWS.

After years of searching for room to grow, Sheet Metal JATC San Diego has found it, right in our own complex.

We have acquired two additional spaces totaling 8,200 square feet, virtually doubling the size of our apprenticeship training center. This allows us to grow from a training center into a true training campus.

The expansion will give us room to:
• Add a dedicated service and TAB lab and classroom
• Expand our welding shop by 800 square feet
• Increase our administrative and lobby space
• Bring in more modern equipment and expand specialized training opportunities

“We’ve been looking to expand for years, and finding this space in the same complex is an incredible opportunity,” said Training Director Lorenzo Miles. “We can stay centrally located in San Diego while creating more specialized training areas, investing in modern equipment, and preparing to train more apprentices." Miles added, "I want to extend my appreciation to our JATC Board for giving us the green light to move this expansion forward.”

More space to build what’s next.

09/11/2026

25 YEARS LATER. WE REMEMBER.

Twenty-five years ago, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In the days that followed, San Diego answered the call. Members of California Task Force 8, San Diego’s Urban Search and Rescue team, deployed to New York to assist with search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center. San Diego firefighters worked alongside responders from across the country at Ground Zero.

Members of our union family answered the call, too.

Immediately after the towers collapsed, construction and sign members of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association working on job sites across Manhattan rushed to Ground Zero to join fellow building trades members searching for survivors.

Below the towers, members of the United Transportation Union, whose union later became SMART’s Transportation Division, were operating PATH trains beneath the World Trade Center. They kept the trains moving and waited until they were filled so they could evacuate as many people as possible.

On a day of unimaginable loss, working people did what working people do. They showed up. They helped. They stood together.

Twenty-five years later, Sheet Metal JATC San Diego and the members of SMART Local 206 remember those we lost, honor those who answered the call, and remember the courage, service, and unity shown that day.

To our Local 206 members: if September 11 touched your life, your family, your work, or your community, we invite you to share your story in the comments. Twenty-five years later, those stories still matter.

We will never forget.

09/07/2026

BUILT BY LABOR

Look across San Diego.

You see the skyline. The buildings. The places where people live, work, and gather.

We see the people behind it.

The skilled hands. The early mornings. The years spent learning a trade. The pride that comes from standing back and knowing I helped build that.

This Labor Day, Sheet Metal JATC San Diego honors the generations of skilled workers who helped build our city, and the apprentices learning today who will leave their own mark on it tomorrow.

Buildings shape a skyline. People build it.

09/03/2026

8,000 HOURS
ON THE JOB.
GETTING BETTER

Our five-year apprenticeship includes 8,000 hours of paid on-the-job training where you learn the trade by doing the work.

Real jobs. Real crews. Real skills that build over time.

Learn more about our apprenticeship program and what you'll learn on the job. Visit our website. https://smjatcsd.org/our-apprenticeship/

09/01/2026

LAST FIRST DAY.

Class of 2027, this is it.

Your final year of high school has started. One more football season. One more homecoming. One more set of finals.

And then?

That part is up to you.

College is one path. Job jumping is another. Or you can start learning a skilled trade, earning wages and building a career with room to grow.

At Sheet Metal JATC San Diego, no previous trade experience is required. Bring the work ethic. We’ll help teach you the trade.

Your last first day is here. Start thinking about your next first day.

Learn more about our apprenticeship and apply today. Visit our website: https://smjatcsd.org/