is imperative, said Ortiz. “In our trade you have to pay attention to the small details,” he added. The following day the apprentices took a closed-book written test focused on tile indus- try ANSI standards and the TCNA Handbook of Ceramic, Glass and Stone Tile Installation. Combined scores were tallied, and Perez was announced champion for the tile division of the contest. Ortiz and Collier have been providing structured education and skills training to tile setter apprentices for several decades and are deeply committed to con- tinued program developments and improvement. At the same time, they acknowledge that the top- performing apprentices’ high skill level is not only a result of the foundational skills built in those classrooms. The contrac- tors they work for and installers they work under day-to-day are a signifi- cant influence on appren- tices’ development, they said. “What they expect and how they have them do things in the field has to support what IMI train- ers are showing them,” said Collier. Apprentices are on the job so much more than they are under an instructor’s tutelage, he added. When it comes to Perez and the other 12 apprentices who compet- ed, it’s clear that this is happening. TECH TALK –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– California’s David Perez was the champion for the tile division of the contest. 84 TileLetter | November 2018