Plans for training center in progress

The union wants to give its apprentices up-to-date and well-rounded educations.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- An electrical workers union has bought land and started planning for a 17,500-square-foot training center in an industrial park on Research Parkway near the Trumbull Career and Technical Center.
Mark Catello, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 573 on Parkman Road in Warren, said the union is hoping to break ground this fall and complete construction in the spring.
The union has a five-year training program for apprentices in which they work a regular eight-hour day and take classes at night, Catello said. The union has outgrown its 8,000-square-foot facility on Parkman Road and has been looking for more space for about a year.
He said the Mahoning Valley is not seeing the amount of construction the union would like, resulting in a 30 percent unemployment rate among its journeymen electricians.
The union, however, remains hopeful that projects such as the proposed indoor Brant Motorsports complex near the Youngstown Warren Regional Airport, proposed Eastern Shawnee tribe casino in Lordstown and spinoff businesses might improve economic conditions, Catello said.
The last big project for area electricians was work on the paint shop at the General Motors Lordstown facility from early 2004 until July of this year, he said.
Moving forward
Planning for the new facility is being done by the Joint Apprenticeship Committee, made up of the union and contractors, Catello said.
The union purchased four acres from the Kent State University Foundation in August at a cost of $60,000 and has hired the firm of Phillips/Sekanick Architects of Warren to design the facility. Catello said a meeting to begin on the design is set for next week. He said it not known yet how much the facility will cost.
"We are trying to stay up-to-date with new technology. The electrical field changes a lot year to year," Catello said. "Our goal is to make the most rounded electricians."
Among the newest technologies are low-voltage electricity and fiber optics. The facility will include classrooms, a computer lab and areas where residential, commercial and industrial wiring can be taught.
Catello said he is excited about the opportunity to be near the vocational school, which offers a two-year program in electricity, and Kent State University Trumbull Campus. This may open up an opportunity to network with the educational community and offer classes to bring even more opportunities to the apprentices, such as classes on people skills, he said.
The union offers classes at its 2430 Parkman Road N.W. facility to its 30 to 40 apprentices.
The land in the industrial park was set aside for research and educational purposes, Catello said. Across the street from the new facility is the Delphi Packard Electric research facility.