Darci Salvotti

Apprentice

Although Darci Salvotti’s father and three brothers have all worked in sheet metal, she did not initially consider it an option for her. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, however, Darci was still unsure about what to do with her degree or whether to pursue graduate school.

Her father, a retired sheet metal worker and Local 104 representative who specialized in testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB), showed her some aspects of TAB work — and she took to it, entering the apprenticeship in 2021. Her notions of construction being all heavy lifting and grunt work were soon dispelled.

Darci also found union health benefits useful when she had her first child in 2022. That same year, the Bay Area Industry Training Fund received an ERiCA (Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship) grant, which provided Darci and other parents with some reimbursement on childcare costs.

More than halfway through apprenticeship now, Darci still finds interesting challenges in TAB. She says TAB workers get a bad reputation — because they root out any mistakes made by other trades workers.

“It’s like being a detective,” she said. “People think we just calculate the duct size to balance it properly, but you have to be good at figuring out how things are engineered, how they’re set up. There are lots of different facets.”

While Darci understands the trades might seem intimidating to young women, she’s found sheet metal to be a very supportive environment. Joining at age 30 with a college degree under her belt probably helped with her confidence, she said. While most of her coworkers have no idea she has a psychology degree, Darci thinks that background might prove useful if she becomes a project manager or foreperson.

Rebecca Suen

Apprentice

Rebecca Suen, 34, is a veteran of the California Army National Guard, where she was a Staff Sergeant in the 223rd Military Intelligence Battalion, serving as a linguist. The first in her family to join the military, she’s also the first to enter the trades. Rebecca began her apprenticeship at Local 104 in 2022 and has gravitated toward detailing.

Between military service and apprenticeship, Rebecca earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from San José State University. Graduating in 2018, she got a job soon afterward working remotely that promised to train her for bigger and better things but never did.

“So, I applied to a few apprenticeships and sheet metal called back,” she said. “I’d quit the other job already, so it was the right time.”

Away from work, Rebecca loves motorcycles, snowboarding and skateboarding — so she’s not intimidated by much, including big jobs. Her work partner once had to leave during a large duct project that was going to be a team effort. He returned, surprised to find she’d completed the whole job herself.

“I said ‘Well you were gone a long time, I’m not just going to stand here!’” she recalled. “I’ve always had the mindset to get in, get the job done and go home. That’s from the Army, I don’t think too hard about it.”

Rebecca’s apprenticeship rotation has taken her from big open jobsites on the Google campus to residential apartments in San Francisco. This opportunity to learn different ways of doing things is what she yearned for back when she was a remote worker.

“Everyone is ready to teach you right from the beginning,” she said. “They want to give you the right foundation from the get-go.”

Her advice to other women considering sheet metal apprenticeship? “If you’re interested, pursue it! Don’t worry about what other people think. Do your best and work hard, let your actions speak for themselves.”

Cecile Ascencio

Part-time instructor

Navy veteran Cecile Ascencio applied to the Local 104 apprenticeship on the advice of a friend, graduating as a journeyperson in 2021. An employee at Silicon Valley Mechanical, Cecile teaches part time at the San Jose training facility, molding the future of the industry through classes for pre-apprentices.

After two tours with the Navy, Cecile earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from San Jose University, but quickly realized she did want to carve out a career in the financial world.

“I knew that getting into the union would have good pay, benefits and would change my life,” she said. “Being part of the sheet metal union has certainly changed and improved my family’s quality of life, which I will always be grateful for. I wish I knew about it sooner.”

A self-proclaimed lifelong learner, Cecile gets as much from her students as they get from her.

“I enjoy helping the next generation of sheet metal workers gain knowledge,” she said. “I find teaching rewarding because not only do the students learn, but I can learn from them as well.”

Cecile has only seen a few women come through her pre-apprenticeship classes and would like to see more. She said she believes more women would join if they knew about the apprenticeship program, and the union, being open to everyone. Showcasing female instructors and other leaders in the industry helps potential apprentices see themselves in the union. She would like to see the Women in Construction community grow as more women discover the same opportunities she did.

“There are many opportunities to grow and develop professionally,” she added. “I just want to hone my craft, become the best sheet metal worker that I can be, and I look forward to my development as a professional.”

Her advice for the next generation? Be prepared, have your tools and be ready and willing to learn.

Jennifer Scott

Full-time instructor

Jennifer Scott is a fourth-generation sheet metal worker who graduated from the apprenticeship in September 2022. During her fourth year, she was brought on as a part-time instructor by Local 104 to teach pre-apprentices and then as a part-time instructor teaching welding in architectural sheet metal all the while serving as an architectural foreman for Omni Sheet Metal in San Jose. In April 2023, Jennifer was hired on as a full-time instructor.

She and her husband, who is also a member of Local 104, are raising a daughter and son, who exclaimed during his kindergarten graduation, “I want to be a sheet metal worker like my mommy.”

Like her son, Jennifer grew up around not only the sheet metal industry but architectural sheet metal, a specialty she shares with her both her parents, grandfather and great-grandfather. Architectural sheet metal is the most visual specialty in the trade, because it’s the most often seen by the general public. Architectural sheet metal can be anything decorative or water deterrent such as finishing on the side of a building, a decorative stainless steel hood vent in a commercial kitchen or hand-cut and soldered details on a 100-year-old building restoration.

As a child, Jennifer watched her mother make scuppers, a metal outlet for water on the side of a building, and said, “I thought it looked fun.”

Jennifer’s husband is part-time instructor, and together they worked with Local 104 and Bay Area Industry Training Fund to make sure one parent can be at home in the evenings with their children. Anyone who is going to be successful in the industry must communicate with their local union if they need an accommodation or help in any way. It’s the best way to be successful, she said.

“I love to teach. I like to be able to help people understand,” she said. “I’m dyslexic, and I have a couple learning disabilities, so I understand and if someone doesn’t understand, I can break it down for them like a break it down in my head. I know how to twist it in a way to help them, so they don’t get lost. I like to be able to explain it in its simplest form.”

Renee Matosich

Part-time instructor

Renee Matosich followed her grandfather, father and two uncles into the unionized sheet metal trade, graduating from the apprenticeship program and beginning her teaching career at Local 104 in 2021. The reason? She had a good childhood because of the careers her father and grandfather had, and she wanted that life for her own family.

Originally from Modesto, California, Renee chose the testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) specialty, which exercises her mathematic and problem-solving abilities on a daily basis. It’s also a specialty that requires her to keep learning — from on-the-job experiences she is more than happy to share with apprentices in her applicant and TAB/controls classes.

She currently holds the following certifications: Duct Leakage Testing Technician, Indoor Air Quality Technician, Mechanical Acceptance Test Level 2 Technician, Testing Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) Technician and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 30.

“In addition to teaching, I also work in the field full time, so by constantly learning I feel I have a lot to offer the next generation and I stay involved as the workplace evolves,” she said. “It’s rewarding to watch new members learn and apply the knowledge I share with them.”

Just as men in the sheet metal industry have encouraged their sons, grandsons and nephews to join the trade, so too should female family members be encouraged, as Renee was by her male relatives. Hard work and dedication aren’t dictated by gender roles. By the time Renee graduated from the apprenticeship, she had already secured a part-time instructor role in addition to working full time in the field.

“Women need to be aware that we can succeed in this field with hard work,” she said. “What surprised me most about the industry was how fast you can learn and earn your ranking with dedication and hard work. The highlight of my career, so far, is being able to run my own crew and provide high-quality work along with having the opportunity to spread my knowledge for future generations to come.”