It is known that there is a shortage of skilled technicians in the HVAC industry and because of this, our company realized it could potentially affect our ability to provide quality service and our overall growth.

Starting A Career With Palm Air, Our Apprenticeship Program

Staff|10 January 2020

When our company was first founded in 2008, our aim was to change the way people in South Florida think about HVAC contractors. From the beginning we have been committed to providing our customers with cleaner, colder, more comfortable air and we understand that the only way we can achieve this is by ensuring we have technicians who are not only extremely skilled in servicing HVAC systems, but that they value building healthy relationships with our customers as much as we do.

With our goals in mind, in 2019 we rolled out our apprenticeship program. Our program was designed with 3 main purposes:

1. Ensuring Palm Air’s ability to meet staffing requirements
   
   
2. Improving staff accountability
   
   
3. Providing a space for tech school graduates with little to no field experience to learn and advance with the help of seasoned professionals.

It is known that there is a shortage of skilled technicians in the HVAC industry and because of this, our company realized it could potentially affect our ability to provide quality service and our overall growth. At Palm Air, we do things a bit differently and instead of simply focusing on the mechanical equipment alone, we take a whole-home approach. Our ideologies are unique to our company and isn’t taught in tech school. With our apprenticeship program, we train individuals who are relatively new to the industry and put them in a structured course where they can learn the ins and outs of the industry as well as the processes of Palm Air at the same time.

What Is The Apprenticeship Program?

Our program is split into two main parts.

Program A

The first part of the program is a 90 day period where candidates are allotted 20-25 hours of part-time work as a parts runner. Candidates will balance being a part-time parts runner with studying and essentially doing a series of coursework and tests. This is a great position to start because our candidates still get a chance to take part in assisting with a job without running into any mishaps. Putting extra effort into learning will always benefit you in the long-run.

Program B 

Once our candidates have successfully completed program A, they are then moved to program B. This is where they have the opportunity to be paired up with our best technicians who they will work along with to gain field experience. This is also where we sign them up for an 18 months online course and they also have the option to enroll in a 4 year program at the local community college in Palm Beach State.

Typically, we start our apprentices at $10-$12 per hour and once the program has been successfully completed and they’ve been placed, it goes up to $15 per hour.

Our success depends on more than just the quality of our products, which is why we are dedicated to investing in our people. We offer a safe and educational environment for men and women who are fresh out of tech school with zero field experience to continue learning and become the brilliant technicians we know they can be. Our program also gives us the confidence and knowledge that not only will our apprentices be good at what they do, but that they’ll be doing it in a way that is specific to our business.

It’s a new year and maybe it’s time for a new career. At Palm Air we believe in rewarding great work with great benefits that go beyond standard compensation. To learn more about some of the perks that come with working with us click here. Be sure to also check out our current openings! We can help you be the best technician you can be and you can help us grow.