Trained fitters are in a high demand in Great Falls.
A fitter is one step above a welder. Their job is to read blue prints and add all the parts, or “jewelry,” to a main member, or steel beam.
“A fitter looks at a blue print and lays it out and tacks on the jewelry,” said Bob Reiman, vice president of operations at Anderson Steel.
The work is complex.
“You have to know math and geometry,” Reiman said.
Finding workers with those skills and aptitudes is very challenging. Currently, Anderson Steel trains its fitters through on-the-job training.
“Previously, there was no such thing as a short-term customized training for fitters,” Reiman said. “Usually manufacturing plants will have to train their own fitters.”
Great Falls College MSU is stepping in to fill that niche for short-term training for fitters. Anderson Steel and ADF recently partnered with Great Falls College MSU to create a course to allow workers currently employed as welders to advance their skills to become fitters.
“We’re offering a basic fitters course to teach the necessary skills they need to start out,” said Joel Sims, Trades Division and Welding Program Director at GFC MSU.
On a recent afternoon, employees from Anderson Steel and ADF gathered at Anderson Steel to practice their fitting skills. Sims walked them through several hands-on exercises, showing them how to read blue prints and welding symbols, how to accurately measure and understand dimensions, and how to use different layout and fabrication techniques.
Cole Rhodes was one of the students in the class. He graduated from GFC MSU’s welding program in 2014, the same year he graduated high school. He now works at Anderson Steel.
“My official job is handrail and miscellaneous, but I’ve done everything,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes already has fitting experience, as do most of the nine students in the pilot class.
“It’s a pilot program, so we thought we’d start it with guys who are new to our organizations but have some fitting experience,” Reiman said.
This allows the students to give feedback on the class – what the class covered and what else it should cover. As the class moves forward out of the pilot phase, it will be geared toward welders with little to no fitting experience.
For Rhodes, the fitter class was a great chance to learn a few new skills, such as different ways to read blue prints.
“It’s really informative to be able to see how other people do it,” he said. “I just like to learn as much as I can about everything. The more you know, the better you are.”
The fitter course is offered through GFC MSU’s Lifelong Learning division. Participants don’t get academic credit for the 32-hour course, but they do receive a certificate of completion.
During the course, students practiced cutting, grinding and welding several steel beams. Anderson Steel is donating 11 beams, worth about $1,500, to Great Falls College MSU for students to work on in the future.
Being able to practice their skills on real beams will be great for future students, Sims said.
“Cutting a beam like that is much different than cutting a piece of plate,” he said.
Reiman and Sims both hope the pilot course turns into a regular offering. Having a pool of trained fitters in Great Falls would be greatly beneficial for local companies. It would also present a great opportunity for local welders to advance their skills.
The shot-term fitter training is an innovative offering, Reiman said. It’s not something that’s widely available elsewhere.
“This is something they could use statewide or nationwide,” Reiman said.
For more information on the fitting course or other customized training offered by Great Falls College MSU, contact The Center for Lifelong Learning at 406.268.3734.
Watch the Youtube video HERE
By Erin Granger
Great Falls College MSU news service
