Learn Your Trade. Grow Your Skill. Build Your Future: Griffin Electric Celebrates 20th Apprentice Competition

Holliston, MA With more than a third of the construction workforce expected to retire within the next five years, growing the skilled trades may be more critical than ever. A leading electrical subcontractor throughout New England and the Southeast for nearly five decades, Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. (Griffin Electric) has seen firsthand how impactful apprenticeship has been for its own success and understands the significant role it will play in ensuring the industry’s longevity, too. Over more than 30 years, the company’s in-house Apprenticeship Training Program has served as the foundation for many people to get their start in construction and develop the fundamental tools needed to “Learn Your Trade. Grow Your Skill. Build Your Future.” The four-year program delivers a supportive learning environment to set students up for success, allowing apprentices to gain the necessary skills needed to build rewarding careers in which they can thrive. With the current apprenticeship school year ending, the company was proud to recently host its 20^th Apprentice Competition and provide an outlet for apprentices to further encourage learning and growth.

This friendly annual competition is a fun way for apprentices to put important skills and lessons covered over the course of the school year into practice, while also offering the company an opportunity to celebrate the hardworking group of students and instructors across its program. The competition was held at its Holliston, MA headquarters and each of its regional office locations in Pelham, AL; Doraville, GA; Charlotte, NC; and Raleigh-Durham, NC. Hundreds of apprentices were divided into small teams, and each took turns rotating across an array of stations, putting teamwork, skills, and knowledge to the test while earning points based on their performance. The day’s activities ranged from trivia-based stations such as Jeopardy and Safety Bingo to stations geared toward hands-on skill, such as pipe rack challenges, lighting controls, and pipe bending. A Race Car Rally and an indoor maze also required apprentices to work well together as a team to be successful. And with giving back to others representing such a big part of who the company is and the type of people it employs, Griffin Electric also incorporated a community service station into the competition. Each team of apprentices carefully assembled care packages complete with an assortment of personal care items. The company is extremely proud to donate several hundred of these care packages to various veterans’ organizations across New England and the Southeast.

At the conclusion of the competition, all apprentices, instructors, staff, and distinguished guests enjoyed a luncheon provided by the company. The top scoring teams were also acknowledged at an awards ceremony, with each apprentice on the winning teams receiving both a medal and a prize. The competition truly showcases the talent and depth of the company’s program and Griffin Electric can be confident it is helping to build future leaders of the construction industry.

The company’s Apprenticeship Training Program is a debt-free alternative option to traditional schooling and is both federally recognized and state approved. Offered at each of its regional office locations, apprentices receive 600 total hours of classroom and hands-on instruction over the course of the program, in addition to the 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience they receive on the company’s projects. Apprentices work very closely under the guidance of licensed journeypersons on these jobsites, including some of the very people who also serve as their teachers during the school portion of the program. While enrolled in the program, apprentices not only receive excellent compensation and benefits, but are also eligible for wage increases every six months, based on grades and work performance. The program is also an approved training site by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Apprentices are offered many avenues to deepen their skills and broaden their hands-on experience. Griffin Electric encourages employees to take advantage of every opportunity to help them be their best. As part of its commitment to support the growth and development of team members, and in addition to providing many voluntary personal and professional training courses throughout the year, the company is pleased to offer apprentices, electricians, and mechanics the chance to travel for temporary assignments in new locations. With many high-profile projects ongoing and upcoming in each of the company’s five regions, this may be a particularly exciting and unique opportunity for apprentices to explore a new part of the country and gain valuable leadership experience by exposing themselves to a wide range of projects.

During the competition, the company also recognized National Apprenticeship Week and celebrated all the men and women who make up its Apprenticeship program. There are so many skilled apprentices representing the company across hundreds of jobsites throughout its five locations, and it is so grateful for the work they perform to help the company be successful. Griffin Electric also understands how fortunate it is to have a team of instructors and staff who put in so much time and effort to make the program the best possible learning environment for these apprentices.

Griffin Electric continues to have a lot to be proud of. Apprenticeship remains a vital part of the company’s identity, and it is the people that make up the program, including apprentices, instructors, and staff, who have allowed it to be so successful for over three decades. As part of its mission to “Work with the Best. Be the Best,” the company will continue to take an active role in molding future leaders of the construction industry by supporting its team members through every step along their apprenticeship journey and beyond. 

For more information about the company and its employment opportunities, visit waynejgriffinelectric.com, call its recruiting hotline at 800-421-0151, or email your resume to fieldrecruiting@wjgei.com.