Training FAQs

Description: C1 provides a comprehensive overview of the protective coatings industry. Broader themed than inspection courses (e.g., NACE CIP), it is an ideal introduction to or refresher for reviewing the fundamentals of corrosion and the use of coatings as a protective mechanism against corrosion and deterioration of marine and industrial structures.
Length: 40 hours classroom (can be broken up over a couple weekends) with 100 question exam
Who should attend: in DC 17’s opinion, ALL Industrial Paint members should take C1 at some point.
Instructor: Finishing Trades and Third Party Instructors (FTI)
For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Description: C3 contains specific discussions on protecting workers, compliance with environmental regulations, proper management of waste streams and operations that result in potential exposures to lead and other hazards, and associated control technology. It includes background information on the hazards of lead and other toxic metals (e.g., arsenic) as well as a review of the current legal and regulatory issues. The course also addresses developing programs to effectively control risks to workers, the public, and the environment
Length: 32 hours classroom with 100 question exam
Who should attend: supervisors involved in hazardous paint removal projects.
Instructor: Finishing Trades and Third Party Instructors (FTI)
For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Description: annually (after C3) for QP2 Contractors, biannually otherwise. One day review of C3
Length: 8 hour classroom with 25 question exam
Who should attend: same as C3
Instructor: Finishing Trades and Third Party Instructors (FTI)
For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Description: C2 is not an introductory course. Designed for supervisors and seasoned tradesmen with a solid understanding of coating fundamentals, C2 provides an overview of the principles of planning, awarding, and monitoring the quality of new construction or maintenance painting projects. After completing this training program, students will be familiar with tools to develop effective coating projects and play a more active role in managing painting projects to successful completion.
Length: 40 hours classroom (can be broken up over a couple weekends) with 100 question exam
Who should attend: seasoned industrial painters in supervisory positions
Instructor: Finishing Trades and Third Party Instructors (FTI)
For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Description: SSPC Plural Component Application for Polyureas and High Solid Coatings is a new SSPC training program. The two previous offerings of this course in DC 17 [April 2017 in Edmonton and Saskatoon] were the 1^st offerings in the entire IUPAT. Additionally, these were only the 6^th or  7^th times the courses had ever been offered by SSPC. So, it’s new to the SSPC cue, and probably needs some tweaks. Still, it has some fantastic information re plural equipment and spray; the only other similar program (SSPC C14) focuses exclusively on manifold mix plural spray. But this course dives into both manifold mix (i.e., high solids coatings) and gun mix (i.e., polyurea) plural gear. There is nothing else offered like it out there.

Length: week – two day classroom (w/ written exam), followed by 1 day review of both plural rigs and then practicals on both plural units

Who should attend: seasoned industrial painters in with previous experience (800 hours) on plural equipment.

Enrollment: very limited; 8 max

For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694

For all District Council 17 training related questions, or to schedule or request training: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Yes. Calendar is routinely updated to reflect upcoming DC training events. If you don’t confirm enrollment, the schedule could later shift to accommodate other training demands. To confirm your enrollment: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

• L177EDM: 17804 118 Ave NW, Edmonton AB T5S2W3, 780.484.8645
• L739SK: 101A – 135 Robin Crescent, Saskatoon SK S7L6M3, 306.244.6184
• L739MB: 168 Higgins Ave, Winnipeg MB R3B0B8, 204.943.2497

See website links for health and safety training, skills training, and supervisor training. The courses and (when necessary) applicable descriptions are listed there

YES.

• L177EDM: In general, OSSA training is offered ~weekly in Edmonton; check calendar
• L739SK: OSSA training is offered as required in Saskatoon; check calendar
• L739MB: OSSA training is offered as required in Winnipeg; check calendar

To request / enroll: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694

Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694 to enroll for in-house OSSA offerings @ L177EDM (or L739SK) in route to dispatch site
Background: L177 has some non-Alberta resident members who maintain their membership for occasional shutdown work. 11+ months / year they are working ‘back home’, out-of-province. These members are welcome to do this. However, with so few man-hours worked in Alberta, their training contributions are simply insufficient to justify the costs for outsourcing for a month shutdown.

Out-sourcing is probably the answer here. Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

United Academy is the training arm of United Rentals
United Academy’s CORE 4 consists of Boom Lift, Scissor Lift, Forklift, and Class VII Forklift (e.g., Telehandler or ZoomBoom). The IUPAT and United Academy signed an agreement whereby we can certify trainers for their programs. Corey Bollivar (Calgary), Rodger Watson (Saskatoon), and Mike Iftody (Edmonton) are DC 17 CORE 4 United Academy Instructors. For members that don’t need OSSA EWP, this program will help us immensely
To enroll: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.
DC17 Training enrolls you in the CORE 4 course[s] of interest. You must have a unique email to be enrolled. You will receive emailed link, userid, and password for the online theory training modules.
After you complete these theory modules, you must schedule a practical. Contact DC17 Training again at that point to coordinate. If we can’t organise a practical w/ Corey, Rodger, or Mike, we will contact United and find a convenient time / place for you to meet with a United Rental’s instructor for your equipment practical[s].

Similar to CORE 4, this is United Rental’s Fall Protection. The Canadian rollout has been slow compared to the USA rollout, as United must tailor their program to the specifics of each province. So, this program isn’t quite ready yet. But it will be …
The process is virtually identical to CORE 4. Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694, and you’ll receive a link, userid, and password for online theory training modules. After you complete these modules, you must schedule a practical. Call DC17 Training again at that point to coordinate.
Corey Bollivar (Calgary) & Rodger Watson (Edmonton) are DC 17 Fall Pro United Academy instructors. If we can’t coordinate a practical w/ Corey or Rodger, we will contact United and find a convenient time / place for you to meet with a United Rental’s instructor for your Fall Pro practical.

The Coating Applicator Specialist (aka, CAS) certification is a written and practical (blast & spray) exam by SSPC designating one to have met the minimum knowledge and skillset requirements for an Industrial Coating Applicator as described in the Joint Standard SSPC ACS 1 / NACE No. 13 Industrial Coating and Lining Application Specialist Qualification and Certification.
CAS certification is requested by more and more industrial site owners as an Applicator Certification in much the same way as NACE CIP is for coating inspection certification.

SSPC actually has two levels of CAS – Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 is for the inexperienced / new hires. DC 17 isn’t against Level 1, but its value is limited. CAS “Level 2” is the CAS of interest. So, when we say “CAS”, we mean SSPC CAS Level 2. This is the applicator certification that owners are interested in.
“Interim” refers to SSPC’s rollout and implementation of their CAS program; recall, CAS (Level 2) is SSPC’s written and practical exam effort to test the minimum requirements for applicators as described in the Joint Standard SSPC ACS 1 / NACE No. 13. There is nothing inadequate about “interim” certification.
New “interim” certifications will likely phase out in 2020. In which case, all [new] CAS Level 2 certifications will be “full”. The CAS Level 2 Full written exam is a bit more difficult, covering a broader range of themes (e.g., thermal spray, electrostatic spray). The practical is unchanged.

If you have your “CAS” now, you have CAS Level 2 Interim
You can recertify CAS Level 2 Interim once. To recertify CAS Level 2 Interim, you need 36 hours of industry related training over a 3 year period. SSPC is very reasonable concerning what training they accept. For example, a two day Standard First Aid (16 hours), and you’re almost halfway there.
OSSA Fall Pro? … Yeah, that counts!
H2S? … Yup, there’s another 8 hours!
So just by staying up to date on your safety training, over a 3 year period, you’re very close to meeting the hours for interim recertification.
If you take an SSPC or NACE course in that same period, you’re easily approaching (or comfortably over) the 36 hour threshold.
As mentioned, you can only recertify CAS Interim once. After that, recertification consists of writing the FULL written exam (written only, not the [same] practical). We still have a couple years before anyone is affected here. Cross that bridge as we approach.

Before IUPAT and SSPC negotiated their original agreement, L177 developed the Journeyman Industrial Painter (JIP) program (aka, Gold Seal). Although not quite mirror images, the 177 JIP was modeled off SSPC CAS (uses the same CAS panel, etc.)
As a result, if you have your CAS Level 2 Certification, 177 members do not need to retake the JIP practical. Assuming you have the [verifiable industrial] hours, if you have CAS, all you need to do is write the JIP. If successful, you will be issued your JIP and dispatched as a Journeyman
For more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

Yes, but …
For Edmonton locals: the preferred path for your JIP Practical is get your SSPC CAS certification first; this is going to help you on-site (site owners aren’t concerned with JIP [an internal union program]; they want to see a CAS certification from SSPC); after CAS certification, apply to write the JIP
For non-Edmonton locals (e.g., Ft McMurray residents): CAS opportunities outside of Edmonton and Saskatoon are obviously limited. Out-of-towners who desire to take the full JIP (w/o CAS) – that is the written and the JIP practical – can schedule ahead of time.
In either case,for more information: Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694.

For 739 members, it’s more straightforward. If you have 6000 [verifiable] hours in industrial painting and your CAS Level 2 certification, you will be dispatched at Journeyman status.
Note: SSPC is a bit slow grading things, and then they send it to the International in Maryland, who then finally sends it to DC 17. Well, in that 6 or 8 or 10 week lag, a lot can happen. For example, contractors could easily have billed you out in that intervening period at your [then current] non-JM rate, making your new dispatch rate difficult to fairly retroactively apply ~2 months later when DC17 finally received your CAS certificate. Therefore, DC17 tries to work with the individuals and the signatory contractors to come up with a fair dispatch date for your new JM rate.
So, just be aware, the dispatch date may not be the date you took CAS, nor the date on your CAS certificate.

Yes. Starting this off-season, DC 17 will offer Red Seal Painter & Decorator JM Upgrade classes in Saskatchewan [Why SK? … Because SK doesn’t locally offer a provincial Red Seal Painter & Decorator training, while Manitoba and Alberta both do].

DC 17 industrial painting members (or reciprocals working in our footprint) with at least 6000 verifiable hours in industrial coatings can challenge the CAS exam.

When evaluating non-union hours, things considered are whether you were truly mentored in that time, what tasks did you perform, what skills did you learn, the reputation of the employer, etc.
Additionally, these hours must be somehow documented – pay stubs, letter from previous employer, etc.

DC 17 offers two (2) CAS exams annually. One in Edmonton, the other in Saskatoon. DC 17 members can take it in either place.
If we have a third (e.g., Ft McMurray), because we don’t have training centre there, would need the cooperation of a local contractor to host.

There are only so many union CAS proctors to go around, and we are just one DC amongst many in North America – and we need TWO (2) CAS’s in any given year (Edmonton & Saskatoon). For the last couple years, it’s been February, and February works pretty well on our end. But in reality, it could just as easily be December or March. As the off-season approaches, dates will be requested. Check Calendar for updates.

Email DC17 Training at training@dc17.ca or call 800.322.0694 for CAS Application.
Maximum class size is ~24. Whoever gets their CAS applications in first will be given priority.

SSPC CAS consists of a written and blast & spray practical.
For written prep, there are a few options. 1st, you should take SSPC C1. There is no better prep for the CAS written than SSPC C1 Fundamentals of Protective Coatings (offered annually in Edmonton and Saskatoon, intentionally prior to CAS)
And / or else, DC17 Training tries to offer study sessions week prior to, or at least weekend prior to, the CAS exam. In 2016, we offered half day prep for 4-5 days prior to the CAS week. In Saskatoon, we did these in the evenings (for guys working), and that model worked out well. If schedule allows, we will repeat in offseason. Else, we’ll do something weekend prior to.
Additionally, there are on-line CAS prep materials which will be made available.
For the practical: you’re taking an applicator test for blasting and spray; you either know how to blast and spray, or you don’t. However, in the prep classes, we will review the CAS panel and discuss ‘strategy’ for the practical.

No. Our IUPAT – SSPC agreement does not apply to public offerings, only private offerings with internal IUPAT SSPC instructors and proctors (which gives us our big per capita discount). You can take a public offering, and that certification would clearly count, but the Hall isn’t reimbursing for it.

No. IUPAT does not have an agreement with NACE like the one we do with SSPC.
The IUPAT paid for a NACE CIP 1 & 2 in Edmonton in January 2017. But that was for all Canadian district councils – not just DC 17 – and was likely a one-off.
In our agreement with SSPC, when an SSPC course is taught by an ‘internal’ IUPAT certified SSPC instructor, SSPC offers a substantial tuition reduction per head. After all, SSPC isn’t providing the instructor, IUPAT is. SSPC has similar agreements with GPI, KTA Tator, etc. To the point, it is my understanding that NACE doesn’t enter into similar agreements.

NACE International, formerly the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, was established by a group of engineers for the petroleum industry. NACE is headquartered in Houston.
SSPC, the Society of Protective Coatings (formerly the Steel Structures Painting Council), headquartered in Pittsburgh, formed after NACE and focused on structural steel.
NACE was pipeline engineers and SSPC was bridge tradesmen. Even today, you get a different ‘vibe’ at a NACE Conference vs an SSPC Conference. But truly, the lines have blurred. Many of the standards we use are now Joint NACE – SSPC standards (e.g., NACE No. 1 / SSPC SP 5 White Metal Blast). Indeed, the two organizations almost combined some years ago, but the deal collapsed at the last minute.
From a trades perspective, SSPC has better training programs for applicator knowledge and hands-on skills, while NACE has marketed their Coating Inspector Program extraordinarily well. But even there, SSPC has a good inspector program, and NACE is considering its own version of CAS.
In North America, a good industrial tradesmen must be familiar with both organizations.

The purpose of a training department is to train, not make a phone call to out-source everything. But more to the point, consider just a couple real challenges for our Hall, and how effective training addresses such.
Oil peaked @ $156USD / bbl in June 2008; today, $50 / bbl seems the new norm. Potash peaked @ almost $900USD / MT in later 2008; today, it’s $200 / MT. In this era of low commodity pricing, the consequences of a mining centric district like ours are enormous. There just aren’t going to be all those mega Oil Sand, Potash, or Uranium construction mining projects on the horizon as we’ve become accustomed to in the past. So, to help our members meet these economic realities, we must become more efficient as workers, pivot from construction to maintenance, and expand to other markets. To meet this challenge, training is essential!
Meanwhile, the Baby-Boomers are about to retire. We need to replace those seasoned workers with a younger, more diverse, highly skilled workforce. You are not going to attract younger generations to a trade – any trade – w/o offering an aura of professionalism and legitimacy … and effective training – safety, skills, and supervisory – is central to that effort!
So, going forward, our members must [really] be more knowledgeable, [really] more skilled, [really] safer, and [really] more professional craftspeople than our less expensive non-union competition if we are going to thrive as a Hall in the future. I am not exaggerating when I say: Training [really] is the foundation for the future of this Hall.

For signatory contractors, successful training means a better, more efficient workforce, with a ‘positive vibe’, less rework, and ultimately enabling your company to be more profitable.

To members, successful training means growing your membership, building pride in your union, in your profession, and forging a greater confidence in yourself and your brother and sister coworkers on the job-site.
To organizing, effective training is the tantalizing carrot that all, even the non-union, so crave, even if they previously didn’t want to pay for it. If training can woo them in, that means more members, more man-hours, a more sustainable pension fund, an adequately funded health and welfare fund, and just a better atmosphere all around.

Well, just to suggest a couple …
Geography for one – including the two [2] territories, our district footprint is almost half the size of all of Europe! There are our existing training centres in Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg … but what of Ft McMurray? Calgary? Regina? Or the immense areas in between? Do you parachute instructors in, or do you hire local guy[s]? And how do you finance all this? Well, the Director of Training is the union’s lead administrator for the Training Trust. With the diligent help of Debbie Rasmussen, DC 17 has refined and improved the tracking of training monies with more formal accounting practices. Training Finances are presented to and reviewed by Training Trustees (4 from Management, 4 from Labour] semi-annually.
And other Allied Trades – although Industrial Paint dominates L177 and a large plurality of L739 membership – have needs that the training department must address as well.
For example, there are many more Glazier and Glass Shop / Manufacturing Worker DC 17 members in Manitoba than painters. Yes, Glass pays the bills in Manitoba.
And Regina – yes Regina, not Calgary, not Edmonton, not Winnipeg – has by far the largest commercial painting contractor in DC 17 (Deco Interiors).
These brothers and sisters don’t necessarily serve the same markets as our industrial painters, but their issues are no less important. And diversity of our trades – all our district trades – is another important paradigm in securing the future success of this Hall.