The Heavy Metal Summer Experience camp is a game-changer that is raising youth awareness and changing lives
By / Jessica Kirby | Photos: SMACNA Oregon & SW Washington
Get ready, Portland and Longview. This summer, from July 21-25, the 2025 Heavy Metal Summer Experience will bring young people together to sample first-hand the sheet metal, electrical, and piping and plumbing trades in Portland, Oregon, at the Sheet Metal Institute, McKinstry, and IBEW NECA Training Center. In Longview, Washington, JH Kelly is hosting its first HMSE event from July 28 to 31, featuring the sheet metal trade.
Both events will include thorough training sessions led by craft professionals, tours of active job sites and training centers, and hands-on experience learning safety protocol, appropriate tool use, and the teamwork culture of a career in trades.
“HMSE is geared toward students between the ages of 15-19, with a particular commitment to recruit women, diverse candidates, and students looking for alternatives to traditional college,” says Chris Schneider, executive director, SMACNA Oregon & Southwest Washington. “Students will explore the basics of these exciting trades and come away energized by the prospect of a high paying future with job security and no college debt.”
This is the vision that sparked Angie Simon, advisor to the board of Western Allied Mechanical in Menlo Park, California, and former SMACNA National president, to action in 2020. She started thinking about how to get young people interested in sheet metal and other trades after a conversation with her partner, who has four sons.
“He told me that his eldest son, who was 14 at the time, wasn’t very engaged in school,” Simon says. “The summer prior, he had taken an arts class in Oakland where he learned to weld. He loved it. He ended up taking welding lessons and was great at it. It got me thinking—there are so many kids out there where college is not their thing. We should show them what a great opportunity this is. So, we talked about how awesome a sheet metal camp would be.”
Born of these ideas was HMSE, a six-week summer program aimed at building interest among young people. Its goal is simple: introduce youth and their parents to trade opportunities in sheet metal.
The partners at Western Allied approved Simon’s budget of $30,000 to run the camp, and in 2021, the pilot program launched. That program, involving 28 young people held in two locations (California and Washington), was an incredible success.
“I have to admit, we were pretty overwhelmed by the response,” Simon says. “But as with any successful venture, it takes a village, and people were quick to come onboard.”
After hearing about the idea during a SMACNA Annual Convention roundtable discussion on workforce development, Jana Burbank, from Hermanson Company, and Julie Muller, executive vice president of SMACNA Western-Washington, asked if they could get involved.
“We created a committee with Western Allied Mechanical, SMACNA-Western Washington, SMACNA National, Construction for Change, and ourselves,” Burbank says. “We would meet every other week on Zoom to flesh out the details.”
HMSE continues to gain traction. According to the 2024 HMSE Impact Report, the program has seen nearly 1,000 participants with year-over-year increases. In 2024, 500 students participated, and 800 are projected for 2025. The camps run on the generosity of countless volunteers helping from within SMACNA and SMART, and from manufacturers who have jumped on board to provide equipment, tools, and other donations.
Leveraging the program’s experience, the team created the Heavy Metal Summer Experience Playbook—a 125-page living document that details every aspect of the camp, including a break-down of costs, project ideas, and daily itineraries.
As Portland and Longview welcome their 2025 cohorts, the teams are looking forward to meeting students that can easily demonstrate that they’re hardworking, resourceful in the face of challenges, willing to acquire and develop new skills, and be team players. They will also be required to “suit up” just like the industry pros. to “suit up” just like the industry pros.
“Before their first day at camp, students will be outfitted with a new pair of work boots, courtesy of a Red Wing voucher,” Schneider says. “They’ll also receive a new DeWALT tool bag and tools that they’ll be able to take home, even after the program is over.”
The camp is an unpaid opportunity but is built to offer hands-on learning through projects and working alongside craft professionals for a glimpse at local apprenticeship programs and to see firsthand what it takes to succeed.
“Our goal is to show students all the different ways they can become involved in the trades and pursue a rewarding, high-paying career with job security and no student debt,” Schneider says.
Learn more about Heavy Metal Summer Experience at HMSE.org ■
Calling all driven, responsible students enthusiastic about trades
Slots in the 2025 Heavy Metal Summer Experience in Portland are filling up fast!
This year’s Portland camp is situated at three sites in northeast Portland, July 21-25.
- Sheet Metal Institute 2379 NE 178th Ave, Portland
- IBEW/NECA Training Center 16021 NE Airport Way, Portland
- McKinstry Portland Office 16790 NE Mason St, Portland
This absolutely free camp gets students exposed to three different trades at the respective trades state-of-the-art training centers and is designed to give students experience and a leg up when applying to competitive apprenticeship programs.
Below is a preliminary schedule:
- Monday, July 21 Noon – 3pm Sheet Metal Institute
- Tuesday, July 22 9:00 am – 3pm Sheet Metal Institute
- Wednesday, July 23 9:00 am – 3pm McKinstry Company
- Thursday, July 24 9:00 am – 3 pm IBEW NECA Training Center
- Friday, July 25 10:00 am – 1pm Sheet Metal Institute
More information about Heavy Metal Summer and its history can be found at hmse.org. Reach out to SMACNA Oregon & SW Washington for a permissions packet today or visit hmse.org/locations/locations/portland.html to register!