iFTI Updates

The latest from the International Finishing Trades Institute.
Having problems on LMS? Click HERE to let us know so we can promptly get them fixed.  

The iFTI hosted an in-person Directors of Training Seminar on November 2-3, 2022 in Hanover, MD. The two-day seminar was jam-packed with guest speakers and updates from various IU departmental leaders from Organizing, Servicing, LMCI, and iFTI on topics such as curriculum, COE accreditation, Susan Harwood grants, Building Pathways, environmental health and safety - just to name a few! 

IUPAT General President Williams addressed the crowd with a sincere message on the need for growth of our union and urged Directors to pay particular attention to the way we communicate, mentor and develop apprentices so that we build the future of the IUPAT. 

Guest speakers included industry leaders from the MatrixGroup, SkillPlan, The National Workforce Board, and the High Road Alliance. Each shared expert research and best practices that elicited valuable discussions, and they conducted small group activities on topics such as contractor inclusion hiring practices, grant writing, mentorship, pre-apprenticeships, recruitment and retention, and the efforts of the IUPAT Helping Hand.  
 
The seminar brought together experts to engage with the Directors and Coordinators to ask questions, gather resources, learn regulations and best practices, and tie their daily work to build excellence in their local training and education programs.

You can find the Director of Training 2022 Seminar presentation materials in your account on the LMS>My Dashboard>My Communities>Documents>Documents>DOT Seminar 2022 folder.
 

Susan Harwood Grant - Pandemic Resiliency Training

The iFTI revised the two-day Pandemic Resiliency Training with current COVID-19 information as part of the DOL Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. This update includes more recent information and timeless links to important COVID-19 related data and guidance. The purpose is to increase risk awareness, ensure that health and safety controls are relevant and employable, and provide compelling data to reduce vaccine hesitancy among our construction trades members.



The update pertained to Module 3 COVID-19 Pandemic Review of the iFTI 198 and COR 198 Pandemic Resiliency courses, as well as the translations of the new Module 3 in French (FRE 198) and Spanish (SPN 198.) The course and course materials are translated to Spanish and French to reach specific populations and to expand the course offering to our Canadian members. Additionally, the English version of the course was modified into a blended learning format so that it will be accessible to a wider audience through an eLearning module. The course’s training topics include infectious disease and COVID-19 awareness, the hierarchy of controls, conducting risk assessments, developing pandemic plans and establishing business pandemic resiliency.

Revised materials were tested during pilot train-the-trainer offerings with 15 experienced IUPAT Instructors who went through the TTT Pandemic Resiliency Training in 2021. The goal is to train all IUPAT members to provide awareness, health and safety guidance and best practices in all aspects of members’ lives.

Directors of Training may request training using the Training Registration Form found on the LMS homepage. (Course titles mentioned are iFTI 198 Pandemic Resiliency, COR 198 Pandemic Resiliency (with eLearning module), SPN 198 Resiliencia Pandemica and FRE 198 Resilience a la Pandemie.

This material was produced under grant number SH-39126-SH2 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
 

DevLearn Conference

Spanish Courses in the LMS

In an effort to better serve our instructors and members, the iFTI Curriculum team is working to offer more courses in Spanish. The current Spanish resources are listed in the LMS Alert/ticker.
 
If there are courses you would like to be converted to Spanish,contact support@iupat.org.

iFTI 1158 Health and Safety Instructor Symposium

The iFTI hosted the Inaugural Health and Safety Instructor Symposium on October 26-27, 2022 in Hanover MD. 

Various industry professionals presented during the two-day event covering topics on:

• OSHA Safety
• Federal Osha Guidelines
• Solving Environmental Concerns
• Infrastructure and Labor Unions
• Occupational Health

 
Consider attending this annual event if you are:

• Enthusiastic about learning about the latest Health and Safety topics
• Currently teach Health and Safety frequently
• Considered as the first point of contact to handle Health and Safety questions at your local

COE Conference

The 2022 COE Annual Meeting took place on November 8-10, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

The Annual Meeting offered the workshops required for initial or reaffirmation of accreditation (Self-Study workshops and Annual Report workshops), as well as other topics of interest for COE institutions.

On Tuesday, November 8th, COE celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a special cocktail hour and reception since they were unable to meet in person in 2021. Several members of the iFTI team attended the annual meeting in the Sunshine State.

COE OAC November Meeting
 
Earlier that week, the Occupational Advisory Committee (OAC) members and iFTI Staff held their second meeting of 2022. The purpose of this committee is to review each accredited educational program, the Associate Instructor Program and the Master Instructor Program, which they are required to do no less than once annually to ensure that each program provides the best instruction in the skills essential to success in the occupation including job knowledge, work habits, and attitudes. Based on the review, there were no changes made to the two programs.

It was mentioned that iFTI is in the process of completing the self study for reaffirmation of COE accreditation in October of 2023.  There was general discussion about the use of the Instructional Service Centers (ISC) for the Instructor Program course offerings, which will make attending classes more convenient for students.  The October submission of the new ISC Application for District Council 16 Las Vegas is the latest ISC application which should be approved in December at the COE review of applications. 

Rosetta Stone

The iFTI has partnered with Rosetta Stone to build fluency and confidence to speak new languages. Rosetta Stone is dedicated to changing people's lives through the power of language education. It helps all types of learners to read, write, and speak several languages through their immersive bite-sized curriculum and engaging mobile app.

The iFTI’s Rosetta Stone license agreement has been extended until November 21, 2023. We currently have licenses available for members but they are limited so contact iFTI at ftiinternational@ifti.edu to get started today!



New users can get started with this Learner Orientation training video.

Rosetta Stone offers access to learning via its Mobile App which has step-by-step directions for using it on the go!

For more information about Rosetta Stone, please visit the LMS ticker - HERE.

LMS Task Force Monthly Meeting Phase Ends

We are now shifting our developmental focus to implementing the ideas and requests that the LMS task force put forth in over two years of monthly meetings on making our programs and their use of new technology the most advanced in the Building Trades. The members of the task force should be congratulated in advancing our collective programs.

While our path is shifting from fact finding to implementation, your continued input is both needed and appreciated regarding UNITE and the LMS. Please forward all feedback, requests and ideas for future development to support@iupat.org. 

Updated and New Courses/Lessons/Course Materials as of Q4 2022

The iFTI Curriculum Department has uploaded new courses, updated eLearning lessons, and added new course materials in the iFTI Learning Management System (LMS). For your reference, view the alerts on the LMS homepage.
 
October Updates
November Updates
 
FTI 180 Temperature Extremes TTT (8 hours) - The training will follow the OSHA guidance provided in Best Practices for the Development, Delivery, and Evaluation of Harwood Training Grants [OSHA 3686-09 2010] and the 2018 NIEHS Minimum Health and Safety Training Criteria. The Heat Stress Training will incorporate adult learning techniques, effective models for worker training, and training evaluation documentation. The course materials will include a syllabus, PowerPoint (PPT) slides, instructor/student manual, two hands-on and two small group activities, four toolbox talks and one factsheet. The full range of topics will include regulations and guidance, heat stress and HRI education combined with trade specific case studies, first aid, heat stress assessment and control methods.
 
SPN 1162 Ruido Ocupacional y Perdida Auditiva* (1 hour) - Este curso cubrirá qué es el sonido y el ruido y cómo se comporta, cómo se puede dañar la audición y los diferentes tipos de enfermedades auditivas, las regulaciones de ruido de OSHA y cómo medir y controlar el ruido. Esta clase incluirá múltiples actividades prácticas y en grupos pequeños, incluido el uso de medidores de nivel de sonido para medir el ruido de diferentes fuentes, construir y evaluar controles de ruido de ingeniería y evaluar un programa de conservación de la audición.
 
COR 1000 IUPAT History has been updated . The course is now comprised of two lessons:

• Lesson 1: Labor and IUPAT History discusses the significant events from the 1700s to present, which had a great impact on the union. (The old Lesson 2)
• Lesson 2: Our Union identifies all the officers of the General Executive Board (from 1887 to present) and their contributions to the union. The second part of the course lists the affiliated funds, departments, partnerships, and programs. There is also a short discussion of the functions and contributions of the funds and departments (updated by Vubiz and combined old Lessons 1 and 3).

Let us know if you encounter any errors with the updates.

Upcoming iFTI Classes

Below are the upcoming classes for December:
 
FTI 1221 Labor Law in the Construction Industry (B)           
12/4/2022 - 12/9/2022

FTI 1109C OSHA 500 @ ISC DC 30                                    
12/5/2022 - 12/9/2022

FTI 1145 PCB Awareness TTT                                             
12/6/2022 - 12/7/2022

FTI 3000C AMES Tape Tech Certification @ ISC DC 21    
12/13/2022 - 12/14/2022
 
For more information, check the 2022 iFTI Training Calendar in the LMS.

Third Party Online Courses

iFTI and LMCI took action to provide assistance to our affiliates. After reviewing the finances, programs and operational plans, the trustees voted unanimously to cover the costs of Third Party distance learning courses in our Learning Management system (LMS) through January 31, 2023.

For more information about third party courses, check the LMS alerts:

• Third Party Online Course Price List
• Third Party Courses – Best Practices