Ohio Laborers training
Whether you are a first-year apprentice just entering the construction industry, or a seasoned journeyman seeking to improve or expand your skills and opportunities, the Ohio Laborers’ Drexel J. Thrash Training Center, sitting on 119 acres of rolling, scenic ground, is available to train you for success in your career as a Construction Craft Laborer!
Member Spotlight
Anthony Strassell, Laborers’ Local 1216 Mansfield member since 2011 and Training Center Instructor since 2018. I have been married for 7 years and have four children. Like most laborers, I joined the union because someone I knew was in the union and they told me I should try and get in. At the time I had just gotten out of the Air Force and was kind of lost as a young man. I was working a minimum wage job at a farm and didn’t have any future financial or personal plans. When offered, I took the opportunity given to me and became a union laborer and noticed the obvious financial benefits immediately.
It took me a while to see all the benefits and opportunities the union had to offer, but that fall I was scheduled for class at our training center. I was very new to the skilled trades as a Union Laborer and although I was a hard worker, I was not a skilled worker – and that’s the biggest gain I received from the training center. The training center offered me safety, knowledge and skills in a wide range of our craft, which made me a valuable asset as a laborer and also gave me a huge confidence boost in the work I could do as a laborer. There are infinite opportunities being a laborer whether it be immediate and future financial stability, health benefits and promotion to higher job positions. I would also point out one of the best things about being a union laborer and that is the comradeship (brotherhood/sisterhood) in our union. No matter your walk of life we are all one and we don’t see race gender or religion – we see only union brothers and sisters and we are all one!
Listen to the Training Center Podcast
A full service training center
The Drexel J. Thrash Training Center, located near the center of the state at 25721 Coshocton Road in Howard, Ohio, is one of the premier training facilities for Laborers in North America. Any Ohio Union Laborer with hours paid into the Ohio Laborers’ Training and Apprenticeship Trust Fund is eligible for all services provided at the Training Center. (If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact your Local Union office.)
The main building at the Training Center is a 66,215 square foot facility that includes:
• Kitchen and cafeteria – serving break-fast, lunch, and dinner to the Trainees
• Dormitory rooms – providing overnight accommodations for up to 108 Trainees
• Eight classrooms – where well trained and field experienced instructors introduce new skills to Trainees • Three 6000 sq. ft. indoor, all-weather training bays – where Trainees start to take what they learned in the class-room, get their hands dirty, and start actually performing the new skills
• Trainee lounge and game room with TV and fireplace for your downtime
In addition to the main building, the Center also includes:
• Environmental Training building with a classroom and hazardous waste support zone
• 7,200 square foot training building for the gas pipe-line and distribution worker classes for hands-on training during all weather conditions
• Soft ground tunnel, allowing for hands-on building
• Gunite/hard rock tunnel building with two tunnels 80-100 feet long.
You can visit oltc.org/training-center-information for a virtual tour and more information.
Getting Started
If you’d like to explore enhancing your career through no cost training, we encourage you to first contact your Business Manager and/or Field Agent to help get you enrolled. You can download a Class Application Form at oltc.org. Also, if you are not currently familiar with MTP, talk to your Local about using MTP to enroll in classes, check your current skill sheet, and more. For more information, call the Training Center directly at (800)635-7570.
