Why Your Company Needs an In-House Apprenticeship Program

A 350-person HVAC company in Connecticut stopped waiting for experienced technicians to appear — and started building them from scratch.

The labor shortage isn't new. But most contractors keep fishing from the same shrinking pond.

Encon Heating & AC took a different approach. With a legacy dating back to 1969, the company recognized that competing for a small pool of experienced technicians wasn't a long-term strategy. So they built one.

Brett Voccola, Manager of Apprenticeship at Encon, architected a solution called Encon University — an in-house apprenticeship program that recruits directly from high schools through a work-based learning pipeline.

The math is compelling. By the time these recruits are 19, they're licensed technicians.

"We certainly have the whole spectrum of different people here at Encon, but for some of these people, they're the highest earner in their homes. They're still living with their parents, and they're the highest earners of their home at 19-years-old."

That outcome doesn't happen by accident. It requires deliberate early engagement — showing students a credible path before they've committed to something else.

The upside isn't just a filled roster. It's a workforce shaped entirely by Encon's standards.

"We get the benefit of bringing in younger individuals [who] didn't learn bad habits from working at another company… and making sure that they were getting the most dollars back from the job that they were doing. We want to make sure we do things right, we do it cleanly, and we do it properly."

Retention, though, demands more than a paycheck. This generation of technicians expects something the industry hasn't always delivered.

"This [next] generation is looking for something different with the company that they're choosing… It's much deeper than just like clocking in, clocking out. They want to form connections. They want to form relationships. They want a manager they can lean on for advice and for mentorship."

The pipeline works. But only if the culture backs it up.

Brett Voccola recently joined the "Toolbox for the Trades" podcast to discuss:

• [4:42] Pitching opportunities for personal growth and stability over career choices

• [11:52] Building a talent pipeline through work-based learning programs

• [19:02] Why it's important to start the trades recruitment pitch early and often

• [27:12] Encon University's training timeline and initial challenges

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• Encon University

• Future of the Trades

To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.