FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors-National Association (PHCC) has announced that, as part of a renewed commitment to apprentice and journeyman training, the PHCC Educational Foundation will be offering several new training programs in the coming months.

These programs include:

  • A revamped and updated first-year Plumbing Apprentice Program developed after almost a year of meetings with apprentice training and curriculum development experts.

  • A first-year HVACR Apprentice Program offered in collaboration with the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA).

  • A Joint Plumbing and HVACR Instructor Conference, which will be offered in conjunction with three other organizations. The conference will target instructors in apprentice programs and educators who teach the subjects in secondary and post-secondary schools and colleges. It will be held April 5-6, 2006, outside Washington, D.C.

    There also are several other apprentice programs under way, such as administration of the Plumbing Home Study and Fast Trac programs, sponsorship of the International Plumbing Apprentice Contest and SkillsUSA Residential Plumbing and HVAC contests, and assistance to PHCC chapters and other industry organizations interested in offering an apprentice program. There also are plans to begin development of a plumbing and HVAC Continuing Education Unit program.

    On July 1, 2005, PHCC transferred oversight of its training programs to the PHCC Educational Foundation.

    "The Educational Foundation has much experience in providing a wide variety of business management education programs for the industry," said PHCC President Mary Garvelink. "We thought it made sense to tap into their expertise to elevate our apprentice and journeymen training program to meet the needs of the changing industry workforce."

    "We at the foundation are here to serve the industry - we're not just for PHCC members - but for the industry, for everyone," said PHCC Educational Foundation Chairman Jim Driscoll. "Taking over responsibility for the development of apprentice and journeymen training programs is an exciting new way for us to add a different dimension to our efforts to educate the industry's future workers."

    For more information, visit www.phccweb.org/technical/apprentice.cfm.

    Publication date: 07/18/2005