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Date: April 3, 2019
WHSV – Watching the progression of construction from start to finish is rewarding for the people who have a hand in it everyday. With this plumbing apprenticeship through a local company, you can put together pieces of a puzzle for buildings that are here to stay for years to come.
“Even going down the road with my family, it’s like, yeah I did that,” said Dane Boller, a foreman with A-Able Plumbing.
Boller is going through an apprenticeship program with A-Able Plumbing. By day, he attends classes as Massanutten Technical Center, and by night, he’s working on businesses that you pass everyday.
“A lot of people think that plumbers just play in the sewers and stuff like that, but as a plumber, we do a little bit of everything, as far as underground in a new building, to a rough end, and a final stage,” said Boller.
Some days, he’s inside re-gutting a building. Other days, you can find him outside in the mud working on a water line. Boller says this is a great career if you like using your hands and offers unique opportunities to learn and grow.
“They get to see the wide spectrum of what plumbing actually is, not just sewers and toilets, but it’s actually working with all different kinds of piping, from copper to stainless,” said Anthony Slater, President of A-Able Plumbing.
Slater started out his career through this very program.
“The apprenticeship part was great for me, so why not continue that for them,” said Slater.
According to statistics gathered by the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board, salary for this position can range from $30,100 to $54,400. There is a projected growth of 963 jobs over the next decade in our region. Most of these positions require a high school diploma or “On the Job” training.
“Great part is it’s so hard to find the plumbers, so we’re actually able to give our foreman on each job an apprentice to start training, and that way we can kind of groom and help out the new plumbers as they start out,” said Slater.