A family-owned business, Touchton Plumbing Contractors has served Northeast Florida customers for more than 15 years.
The highly successful company serves the greater Northeast Florida area encompassing Orange Park, Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville Beach, Green Cove Springs, Baldwin, Callahan, Fernandina Beach, Atlantic Beach and beyond.
The company’s owner, Eric Touchton, graduated from the NEFBA Apprenticeship Program in 1983. He credits the apprenticeship training and experience for his success in business and he welcomes the chance to help others access the same career path.
“When I graduated from high school, the opportunity to earn a good salary and go to school evenings was presented to me,” he said. “Even as a teenager, I knew that was a good deal. The salary was a big attraction to me plus being able to get the training I would need.”
The salary and the promise of raises throughout the four-year earn-as-you-learn program continue to be one of the program’s strong points.
“In the NEFBA program, apprentices work during the day and attend classes a few nights a week,” Touchton said. “The job pays a salary for living expenses, and the apprentice does not pay tuition or anything other than the cost of textbooks. When I graduated from the program, I wasn’t burdened with student loan debt. I had earned a salary and completed four years of training. Salary increases were built into the program and the wages were good from the beginning.”
Touchton is quick to recommend the NEFBA program to others, especially during his recruitment of new employees.
“I tell my new hires about the program and offer them the option to sign up,” he said. “When they do, it shows me they have initiative and are motivated to move up in the company and in their careers. When I hire someone, I don’t do it with the goal to hire a lifetime helper. I want to hire people who want to advance and become licensed plumbers and project managers.”
Touchton believes the NEFBA Apprentice Program is relevant today. Other training programs may require less time to complete, but the cost can be prohibitive. They also do not include the four years of on-the-job experience that a graduating apprentice already has completed.
“Plumbers and other skilled construction trade professionals are needed to support the economic recovery,” Touchton said. “The NEFBA program helps meet the increasing demand for all the construction trades. At the same time, it gives each apprentice a career option that can be life-changing.”
Since 1974, NEFBA’s Apprenticeship Program has trained qualified applicants on a career path in the construction industry. Upon completion of the four-year, earn-while-you-learn program, an apprentice graduate is skilled in a construction trade as a carpenter, electrician, plumber or heating and air-conditioning technician.
Participating NEFBA member employers pay apprentice tuition and salary, and Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College provide the training facilities and instructors.
For more information, call the Apprenticeship Program Director Penelope Geismar at (904) 421-0296 or email [email protected].