Home-grown Help

It's said, if you want it done right, do it yourself. When it comes to an apprenticeship program, giving yourself the control and creativity to cultivate a staff rather than just manage one will help you become a standout plumbing company.

John Wood only wants the best working for him. That's why he initiated a comprehensive apprentice program within his company, Boston-based Hub Plumbing and Mechanical. For him, a true plumbing apprentice means just that: You apprentice in a plumbing house.

"Granted, not everyone is cut out to be a plumbing technician," Wood says. "It takes a certain caliber. That said, we'll take a greenhorn, and depending on his or her motivation, create a viable technician."

Avoid a Shallow Labor Pool
Wood decided to start his own apprentice program after experiencing what he and his crew saw as a tremendous shortage of skilled labor. The same held true for Henry Scherer, president of Easton, Pa.-based Edwin Stipe Inc. Scherer took a slightly different approach by banding together with nine fellow HVAC and plumbing technicians to form a school for their apprentices and other staff.

"There's a real shortage of people wanting to enter plumbing and other trades," Scherer says. "That was the impetus behind the Independent Quality Alliance. By offering our own school to prospective plumbers and HVAC technicians that features state-of-the-art equipment, we can demonstrate our commitment and help show the value in a trade career."

Both men are members of Nexstar Network, a recognized "business college" for plumbing, HVAC and electrical technicians. Nexstar serves its members by offering ‘soft skills' training like sales and customer service, each integral to successful business best practices.

Lisa Schardt serves as business enhancement specialist for White Bear Lake, Minn.-based Nexstar Network Inc. "We help independent plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors so they can create a healthy corporate culture, become a contractor of choice in their community and increase their profitability," she says. Schardt agrees that trade careers aren't always considered desirable. "Trade jobs may not be glamorous, but if you are given the opportunity to learn and grow with an employer that believes in you, you have a job others will envy."

Size Up Applicants
Wood puts applicants of his apprentice program through a round of service trips with his technicians to gauge how well they listen, their general behavior and demeanor. "If they pass that, we observe if they talk about goals, are motivated to get their license and articulate that they want to be the best in what they do. Only then, will we accept them as an apprentice."

All Hub trucks are "two-man," providing a fertile training ground for a trainee who is regularly rotated with a different master plumber and exposed to an array of on-the-job calls. "We don't want our apprentice sitting idly by on a job," Wood says. "A technician will constantly ask the apprentice, ‘Did you see what I'm doing?' and 'Do you know why I did it?' If they are piping in a boiler and the apprentice can hand the right wrench or pipe, we know what we're doing is working. "

Scherer, too, believes in a varied curriculum and two-man trucks. "While we employ apprentice training as designed by the Associated Builders and Contractors, we observe where our employees need help and tailor the curriculum for them."