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For many years, the mainstream narrative around entering the United States job market has been straightforward: Go to college, get a degree and join the white collar workforce.

Today, as demand for skilled workers continues to grow, that narrative is changing: More and more tradespeople are needed to build the infrastructure, data centers and public facilities that Americans rely on.

In Wheeling, West Virginia, SMART Local 33 and the Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) are taking advantage, not just telling but showing young people in the area what it’s like to earn a great living while working in the sheet metal trade.

The experience paid off at Wheeling’s 2026 HMSE camp, which brought students to Local 33 to try their hand at a variety of sheet metal work. Out of 19 participants, nine are now working as apprentices for Local 33 contractors, and three more are on the list of apprentices to start soon.

Heavy Metal Summer (HMSE), cofounded by former SMACNA President Angie Simon, provides an opportunity for young people across the U.S. and Canada to get hands-on experience with the trades: HMSE students work with skilled craftspeople at shops, jobsites and local union training centers, discovering for themselves whether they may want to pursue a future in the union.

“Heavy Metal Summer [Experience] is a program meant to bring in kids age 15 to 19 to teach them a little bit about the sheet metal trade and what we do, get them a little hands-on projects, help them get a better understanding [and] see if this is something they want to pursue,” said Local 33 Partnership Development Representative Steve Hancock.

In Wheeling, that meant exploring just a preview of all that the sheet metal trade has to offer. Students learned welding by making a fire ring out of eight-inch black iron; formed, cut and put all the extrusions on an architectural metal panel; formed, cut and put together an architectural metal star; and worked with softer metal to make a copper feather from scratch.

“I made [the] fire pit, or fire ring, the other day, so I thought that was pretty cool,” said 2026 HMSE student Landon. “I was pretty proud of myself.”

Welding, fabricating, forming, cutting, hammering — the Wheeling HMSE students got to do some of it all, plus hear about the many, many more options that exist in the sheet metal trade. From detailing to architectural sheet metal work, the unionized sheet metal industry has a lot to offer. And for many members, it all starts in the earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship program.

“Programs like Heavy Metal Summer [Experience] are extremely important because it gives the younger generation a vision into what it’s actually like to be in an apprenticeship program … before they actually even potentially graduate high school or decide a career path,” said Josh Jablonski, Local 33 partnership development representative.

In 2026, 19 Wheeling HMSE students experienced that vision — and at least 12 decided that they liked what they saw.

“A lot of kids are pushed from high school straight to college … so the trades are often the best-kept secret in towns, especially like this one here,” concluded Scott Mazzulli, Local 33 Wheeling business representative. “Heavy Metal Summer helps put us on the map.”

Throughout the summer of 2023, more than 300 high school students and recent graduates participated in the Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE), a free summer camp that introduces them to jobs and careers in the unionized building trades.

At signatory contractor R.F. Knox in Atlanta in June, SMART Local 85 journeyperson Antonio Albarran walked students through creating a sheet metal dustpan. He demonstrated a laser cutter, showed them how to measure and cut flat metal, how to bend it on a press, and how to drill holes for attaching the dustpan handle.

“They’re coming into an actual work environment,” said Albarran. “So, yeah, it is different for them. It does get a little bit loud, it is a little bit hot. But they get the actual experience.”

Students relished the opportunity to get that real-world experience, as well as an introduction to the range of work done in a sheet metal fabrication shop.

“Tuesday was my first time welding, so I thought that was really cool,” said Lizbeth Chavez, who attends Osborne High School in Marietta, Ga. “And we got to do things from scratch. So, that was fun.”

“I learned how to bend sheet metal,” said Allison Flores, who also attends Osborne High School. “I’ve never worked with sheet metal before.”

The project is the brainchild of Angie Simon, past SMACNA national president and recently retired from Western Allied Mechanical, headquartered just north of San Jose, Calif. As SMACNA president, Simon said she would often hear from union contractors that workforce development and recruitment were top problems.

“They would always say, ‘We don’t have enough people, we’re worried about the future.’ So, I started challenging contractors to stop thinking that somebody was going to take care of it for them, and it was time for them to get some skin in the game.”

In 2021, Western Allied teamed up with the Hermanson Company in Washington state and piloted two six-week-long summer career exploration camps, with the intention of replicating the program across the United States.

The project grew from 28 students in two locations in 2021, to more than 170 students in 2022. In the summer of 2023 — now incorporated as a 501c(3) — HMSE enrolled 325 students in 21 locations, including 10 states and one Canadian province.

“I’m very interested. I want to pursue this as a career,” said Nicholas Brown, who participated in the program at R.F. Knox in Atlanta and attends Osborne High School. “I knew they were going to have welding, and I’m really passionate about that. But I was also interested in learning about the other stuff, like sheet metal and ductwork.”

R.F. Knox Safety Director and Local 85 journeyperson Bill Kessler says an emphasis on safety is integrated into all aspects of the camp. From classroom instruction to specific tools and techniques, he works to ensure students learn best practices for avoiding workplace hazards, while having fun along the way.

“They’re making something that they can use at home and they’re proud of it,” said Kessler. “And the enthusiasm on the first day was ‘Wow! Isn’t this cool!’ And every one of them looked at me and smiled and said ‘Yeah, this is cool.’”

The explosion of megaprojects in North America, combined with ongoing core work in the sheet metal industry, is creating previously-unheard- of workforce demands for local SMART unions across the continent — not just in the next few years, but the next several decades. In response, SMART, SMACNA, the International Training Institute and other industry stakeholders have launched a variety of initiatives to bring young people into the trade and expand beyond recruiting through word of mouth.

“The industry is going to change moving forward, and it’s vital that we evolve with it,” remarked SMART General President Mike Coleman. “If we are going to achieve the growth required in upcoming years, we need to make sure we’re recruiting in all the communities in which we live and work, bringing in apprentices from all backgrounds.”

One program has already proven successful in that regard.

Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) is a six-week-long summer career exploration camp that introduces high school students and recent graduates to careers in the building trades through hands-on projects, working alongside skilled tradespeople and discovering local apprenticeship training opportunities. Founded by Angie Simon, past president of SMACNA and retired CEO of Western Allied Mechanical, the program seeks to engage young people who may not otherwise know about our trade and give them the opportunity to learn directly from SMART sheet metal workers, among others. This can be particularly beneficial for young people in underserved areas — giving our union the chance to establish a foothold in communities where we may previously have been absent.

The camp began as a trial program at Western Allied Mechanical in Union City, California and Hermanson Company in Seattle, Washington in 2021. Since then, it has expanded across the country, producing success stories along the way. SNIPS NEWS recently profiled Alejandra, a Local 66 (Seattle) apprentice who found her way to the trade via HMSE.

“I didn’t know exactly where I was going. I didn’t have the funds to go to college or university, and I heard about this program, the Heavy Metal Summer Experience,” she told SNIPS. “I attended and they introduced me to the trades — more sheet metal focused — but they did touch on most trades. They told me that they would pay me to learn, and I was sold.”

Alejandra’s experience demonstrates the importance of programs like Heavy Metal Summer Experience in raising public awareness and providing pathways into the trade for women, people of color and others from historically underrepresented communities. By bringing in those members, local unions can expand their reach and grow their strength well into the future.

“These megaprojects and the organizing and recruiting we do now won’t just impact the next few years — these are chances to provide good, family-sustaining careers for generations to come,” Coleman concluded. “By engaging with programs such as Heavy Metal Summer Experience, local unions can help secure a legacy in their communities for the long term.”

Local unions and interested members can find more information at HMSE.org.