At 37 years old, Antoine Basden considers himself blessed to be a third-year pipefitter/welder apprentice with Local 286 in Austin, TX. He graduated from the Fort Hood VIP Welding program and feels like he has finally found his calling. “I got caught up in the recession,” he said, “like so many people back in 2008.” Antoine graduated from Howard University in Maryland with a sociology degree. He quickly found work in his field. He was promoted, bought a house, and then the recession hit. “It was one of those situations where those of us that had the least amount of seniority were the first to go. there were immediate cutbacks,” he said. Networking back then was not quite as easy as it is today. The Internet had not taken such a stronghold in the networking world, so Antoine called all of his friends looking for recommendations. He moved on to work for Enterprise Rental Cars.
“At Enterprise, I met a guy who was going into the military,” Antoine said. this piqued his interest, and the gentleman told Antoine about the Army’s options for those with a college degree. “I needed some stability and money,” Antoine said, “so I joined. I went in as a Specialist, and I’m glad I did. It helped me fast track through the NCO ranks. I really liked it. I was an aircraft mechanic. I wanted to do something with my hands. I wanted a challenge. the wars were still going on. I went from Basic to Fort Eustis in Virginia and then to Fairbanks, AK. I spent a year in Iraq, and then two years back in Alaska, and then I was sent to Fort Hood in Texas. I was in the Army for six years.”
When it was time to transition out, Antoine was looking for something that would offer him an opportunity for a lifelong career. “My buddy was in a different unit, and I heard him talking about the VIP program,” Antoine said. “I tracked the VIP guys down and literally hassled them once a month for 16 months, saying I was coming! I wanted it so bad. I got into the program in the fall of 2015 and graduated in January 2016 with my UA 100 welding certification.” Antoine stated that he struggled in the beginning. “My instructors were awesome,” he said. “We worked them to death. I was always asking for help. they would stay in the booths with us and guide our hands to show us what to do. One day, I just got it.”
Antoine was in the fifth welding class at Fort Hood. He said that when he first talked to his commanding officers about the program, they had not been familiar with it. “I wasn’t sure if this was just unique to my company,” he said. “When the program started, it took a little bit for the word to get out, but now there’s a waiting list. After I went through the program, I was telling everyone how great it was. It was like I was promoting people to get out of the Army,” Antoine laughed.
When it was time to pick a local union to continue his apprenticeship, Antoine said the fact that he had met a fabulous woman, who is now his wife, was the deciding factor for him to stay in Texas. He knew that Austin was a booming metropolis, and he liked the pay scale and benefits that Local 286 offered. Antoine and his wife own a home in Belton, and he commutes about an hour to Austin every day. Working for the mechanical contractor, the Porter Company, Antoine has been on multiple job sites since his graduation and has loved them all. He’s worked in a fabrication shop, in a clean-room environment, and he has recently been dispatched to work at the Independent in Austin, which is being described as the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River. He said, “I’m just really excited to get out there. I like fabrication shops, because they’re structured and controlled, but I love the job site, because that’s where you learn so many things.” When asked how he was getting along with the other journeymen and apprentices, he said, “The journeymen treat me well. A lot of them are my age. I ask lots of questions,and they give me straight answers. Every apprentice and journeyman has really tried to help me.”
Antoine feels like he has finally found what he’s always been looking for. Right now, he is concentrating on turning out as a journeyman pipefitter/welder. He will also work toward getting his Master Plumbing License, which is a requirement in Texas, and he will pursue other certifications that will make him the most employable.
“Every day is different,” he said. “Between school and the field, you are always learning. There are so many options to improve yourself and to keep moving forward in this industry. When I found out about the VIP program, I did my research. I knew that pipe welding was a specialized welding skill, and that the job prospects are really good. I’m becoming more of a builder. I’ve always been hands on, but now I’m learning a trade, and I feel like I can apply it to anything. I know that several years from now, when I drive by the Independent, I will point and say, ‘I had a part in building that.’ that will be the greatest feeling of all.”
This United Association Veterans In Piping Success Story was originally printed in the CareerOps: Career Opportunities in Piping for Transitioning Veterans Spring/Summer 2018 edition.
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