Started in 2021, The Heavy Metal Summer Experience looks to introduce current high school students and recent graduates to the skilled trades and show them the benefits a career in our industry could have.
How The Program Works
Each Heavy Metal Summer Experience Camp session is held in a shop run by an active sheet metal contractor. Camp attendees are immersed in a curriculum that balances hands-on work within a shop setting and in-depth classroom instruction. Through this approach, campers will learn more about the inner workings of a sheet metal shop, from the BIM design process to fabrication in the shop to installation on the job site. As part of the experience, sessions will be led by experienced professionals from each shop. In addition, campers will learn more about the apprenticeship process and walk through a training center to give them a better idea of how to enter the trade. Participants will utilize tools and PPE donated by some of the industry’s leading vendors.
The program concludes with graduation, where participants are recognized for their work and encouraged to use their experience as a foundation for their professional future.
How did HMSE Start, and Where is It Going?
Starting in 2021 as a joint program of Washington-based Hermanson Company and California’s Western Allied Mechanical, the first career exploration camp was a six-week session designed to pilot future camps throughout the country. The 2023 edition of the Heavy Metal Summer Experience features 22 sessions across 13 states, with more on tap for 2024.
To learn more about the Heavy Metal Summer Experience, please email Angie Simon, Heavy Metal Summer Experience Executive Director.
