SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Trade jobs in our area are plentiful and in high demand, but so are the opportunities to learn those trades.

Local 16 is a sheet metal worker's union in our area that provides people with apprenticeship and employment opportunities.

One of those opportunities is the ability to become a sheet metal apprentice and eventually a journeyman through the Sheet Metal Institute in Springfield.

Chris Brown, a service apprentice at the institute, said he found this trade just worked for him after he tried a few others that didn't.

"All of our credits are college based," said Brown. "So all the classes that we take, which is five-week-long classes per year, are all credited to Mt. Hood, so by the time our five-year span is done, we only have to take a few more credits and we can get our associate's degree."

Other than that, Brown said all the other training is on-the-job skill-building.

And the wages are great, he said.

Starting out as an apprentice, they make around $17 an hour with a 5% pay increase every six months.

Then when you graduate, starting wages are nearly $40 an hour.

To learn more about the institute, click here. 

For information about the union, click here.