NBMAP Mentor Moment: Joshua Sherrard
Josh, a third generation Journeyperson Insulator and JATC Instructor, with Heat & Frost Insulators Local 131 originally attended The M.E.N.T.O.R. Approach training in 2015 before progressing through Train the Trainer (T3) and becoming a certified instructor for his Local. James Whitenect, Business Manager, and Louis Duguay described Josh as “always having the right approach with all of our apprentices. He is willing to donate many hours of his own time to help any of our members overcome their challenges. He is a constant and reliable role model to all our members; he puts their needs ahead of his own. He is very knowledgeable in our trade and is willing to pass it along. In an industry where tempers and short fuses were once the normal demeanor on jobsites, he shows hope that it is not the future with a calm and even attitude and fairness to all”. Josh feels “NBMAP training is so important. In today’s society journeypeople and apprentices need to understand each other. All the training in the world does not give apprentices experience, it’s the on the job hours that really count. Without a mentor this just does not happen and in today’s day and age there is, and will continue to be, a shortage of skilled labor. The key element is listening, if both journeypeople and apprentices truly listen to each other all trades will grow stronger as a union, more productive as employees and create a safer environment for every worker. Isn’t that what we are all striving for anyways? If we are not the ones training the next generation, who will?” NBMAP is extremely proud of the dedication Josh has demonstrated towards increasing mentorship as part of the insulator’s culture but also improving the overall workplace culture within his trade.