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Ironworker ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Fact Sheet Essential skills are skills that help you to perform the tasks required by your trade and other activities of daily life. They provide the foundation for learning other skills, and made it easier for you to adapt to workplace change. Different trades can require different Essential Skills. The Fact Sheet lists the reading, writing, calculating, thinking and interacting skills that are used in a particular trade. Many of these are needed during your apprenticeship, especially during technical training. If you want to see whether you have the necessary Essential Skills to do well in technical training, you can complete the Self-Assessment Checklist and the Essential Skills Exercises for a particular trade. Contact the Apprenticeship Branch at (204) 945-3337 or 1-877-978-7233 (Toll Free) for more information.

Reading Text

Read technical bulletins, WHMIS, TDG and MSD sheets

Read installation instructions or manufacturer’s requirements

Find information in service, safety, operating and other manuals

Read contract documents, schematics and sketches Read and interpret engineering drawings, schematics, sketches, specifications and technical manuals Read specification sheets and technical manuals Read regulations and legislation (eg. health and safety, WCB) Read and interpret building codes and standards Read company or union memos and notices about meetings, policy/procedure changes, social events and other news Read training manuals (eg. for safety certifications such as WHMIS) Use of Documents

Understand welding symbols and legends

Read measuring devices (eg. test equipment, gauges and meters, etc)

Read information in completed forms

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Read and interpret specifications and other drawings (i.e., welding charts, crane charts and material lists) Read and interpret drawings (eg. shop drawings, mechanical drawings and blueprints) Read and understand coding conventions like colour and/or alphanumeric coding and numbering conventions on blueprints Writing

Write lists or notes for ones-self and others

Complete times cards, permit requests and forms Maintain log books, ledgers and records

Write installations, beams, parts, profiles and tendons, etc.

Make sketches, schematics and diagrams

Write incident, service and other reports and forms

Math

Perform basic mathematical operations (calculating materials, bill and costs, etc)

Estimate time, materials and labour as a job progresses Calculate using whole numbers, fractions, percentages, decimals and averages

Measure precisely with tools and devices

Measure from scale drawings

Measure angles, distance and weight

Perform conversions (e.g., between metric and imperial and different specifications, etc.)

Calculate area, volumes, perimeters and dimensions

Measure and calculate elevations

Calculate ratios and proportions

Calculate using a variety of formulas and algebra (i.e., determine re-bar spacing)

Use geometry and trigonometry

Calculate site elevations

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Oral Communication

Speak with and listen to suppliers, customers and laypeople

Signal and speak with co-workers (eg. the overhead crane operator) Give and receive verbal instructions and supervision (including teaching apprentices) Participate in meetings

Describe critical safety issues

Explain and listen to required processes or flow of activities

Provide feedback on quality of work

Thinking

Identify something according to a specific criteria or characteristic

Compare and contrast different blueprints and drawings (eg. to identify blueprint errors) Select appropriate tool, equipment or process for a given situation

Schedule job and work flow

Remember things (i.e., what task comes next, temperature ranges, how to prevent unsafe situations, etc) Organize materials, time and people to complete a task

Integrate information from multiple sources to troubleshoot a problem

Make decisions for problem-solving (i.e. adjust work plans, materials or environment according to changes in task situations) Visualize a process represented in a drawing or picture (blueprint, sketch and diagram) Describe a sequence of operations using self-applied or conventionally assigned reference letters Analyze textual and pictorial information to isolate critical elements and relationships Computer Use

Use computer-controlled diagnostic equipment

Use interface equipment such as computers, microprocessors and hand-held modules Use DDC (direct digital controls) and programming methods

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Use word processors

Use spreadsheet applications

Use internet browsers

Use e-mail

In order to do well in technical training, Ironworker apprentices should also be able to…

Study and Test-Taking

Take notes during a class

Read textbooks and learning materials

Highlight important information in notes, books or other learning materials

Ask questions of the instructor and other students

Participate in small group discussions

Get information from demonstrations

Study for tests

Write multiple-choice tests

Manage time and assignments

For Information contact these Apprenticeship offices or call Toll-free from Rural Manitoba 1-877-978-7233 Winnipeg 1010 – 401 York Avenue, R3C 0P8 204-945-3337 - Fax 204-948-2346

The Pas 305 – 4th Street West , R9A 1M4 Box 2550, 204-627-8290 - Fax 204-627-8137

Brandon 102, 340 – 9th Street, R7A 6C2 204-726-6365 - Fax 204-726-6912

Thompson 118 – 3 Station Road R8N 0N3 204-677-6346 - Fax 204-677-6689