The International Training Institute (ITI) has welcomed Darek Scarlavai, who has more than 10 years of experience teaching registered apprentices and journeypersons, and Pittsburgh veteran Joshua Moore as field staff representatives. Moore will also serve as a specialist for the SMART Heroes program, an accelerated sheet metal industry training program for active-duty U.S. military men and women and recent veterans. 

ITI field representatives provide support for training programs and their directors, create and assist in the implementation of curriculum and training, and serve as a resource and liaison between the ITI and training facilities across the country. 

A native of a small town outside of Cincinnati, Moore was a member of the Army Corps of Engineers during his military service. After more than a decade working as a plant operator and welder, he applied for and was accepted to the apprenticeship program at Sheet Metal Workers Local 12 in Pittsburgh. Moore has served the union as recording secretary, general fund trustee and training coordinator of Local 12, and as a subject matter expert with the ITI in the development of its new welding curriculum. 

As a veteran, Moore will also serve as a specialist for the SMART Heroes program, which was established in 2017 to provide free, concentrated sheet metal industry training to active-duty US. military men and women who plan to enter civilian life within a year.  

“Leadership, communication, motivation and dependability are just a few of the important assets necessary to be an effective ITI field staff contact for the SMART Heroes program," Moore says. “Assets that I am excited to bring forward.”

Scarlavai, who hails from Sheet Metal Workers Local 7 in Michigan, has more than two decades of experience in the industry and has spent the last four years as the local’s statewide training coordinator. Prior to his leadership position, he worked in the industrial sector as a foreperson, steward and full-time instructor. In addition to multiple welding and safety certifications, Scarlavai is one of only a handful of SMART members approved to teach the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) course. 

“I’m committed to creating a collaborative environment that welcomes input from all of our stakeholders,” Scarlavai says. “I want all ITI’s training center staff to know I am here to help them as a peer, mentor and partner. I want us all to succeed. And I want our SMART members to continue to be the best in the business.” 

More than 14,000 apprentices are registered at 150 training facilities across the United States and Canada. The ITI is jointly sponsored by SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers, and SMACNA, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association. 

ITI supports apprenticeship and advanced career training for union workers in the sheet metal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), welding and industrial, architectural and ornamental, and service and testing, adjusting and balancing industry throughout the United States and Canada. The ITI develops and produces a standardized sheet metal curriculum supported by a wide variety of training materials free of charge to sheet metal apprentices and journey workers.  

For more information about ITI and its available training curriculum for members covering sheet metal trade work, visit the website or call 703-739-7200.