Bob completed his apprenticeship at West Michigan Local 174 in 1998. He officially began teaching part-time as a welding instructor in 1999 and had the honor of being instrumental with setting up the initial Authorized Testing Facility for the UA Welder Certification Program at Local 174, becoming the first ATR for Local 174.  During his career, Bob was given the opportunity to serve in leadership as a foreman, general foreman, superintendent, and project manager/estimator.  When given the opportunity to serve as a full-time instructor at Local 174, he gladly accepted.  The instructor role led to the position of training director for the local training program.  He earned the credential of AWS-CWI in 2006 and served many QA/QC roles thereafter.  Bob began teaching ATR and CWI courses for the UA, regionally and at Instructor Training Program after being approached in 2011.  He continued teaching part-time until fall 2021, when he became a training specialist for the International Training Fund.  Bob participates and is a member of various welding and code related committees including NBIC, AWS, and UMC.