First week of the fall semester: 22 new faces, three have held a torch

Asked by ms_almonte · Aug 24

Every September I swear I'll stop being surprised, and every September I'm surprised. New class started this week. Twenty-two of them. Three have held a torch, and one of those set his sleeve on fire in the first hour. Nobody hurt, everybody learned something. First thing I teach, before anything technical: where the extinguisher is and how to use it. Second: how to sweep a floor properly. They laugh at that one. They stop laughing when they find out how much of the job it is. For anyone who trains helpers: what's the first thing you make a new person learn? Ask me how I know it matters.

3 replies

hec_does_ac

HVAC Service Lead · 15 years · Camden County, NJ

Mentor

So this one time in AC... first day on a hotel job I made the new kid learn where the exits were before anything else lol. Sounds dumb. He still got lost in the basement for an hour on day two

5 helpful · Aug 26

Marcus B.

Foreman, Inside Wireman (IBEW) · 19 years · Morris County, NJ

Mentor

Lockout/tagout and how to verify a circuit is dead, before they touch a tool. Then glasses on every day, no arguments. Good luck with the 22. Stay safe.

3 helpful · Aug 25

oldsteam_zig

Master Plumber · 28 years · Bergen County, NJ

Mentor

Where the main shutoff is, kid. Before anything else. Every house, every job, find the main and make sure it actually turns. That's the job.

2 helpful · Aug 25