Fuel policy
Apprenticeship Tradition Remains Strong
T he benefits of apprenticeships accrue to
employers at least as much as they do
to apprentices, said Al Breda, president of
the National Association of Oil and Energy
Service Professionals (OESP).
"I always have apprentices," said Breda,
who is service manager for Sippin Energy
Products in Monroe, Conn. "I don't even know
how many apprentices I've signed off on,"
Breda said, though he recalled that the first
was in 1993.
"It's almost impossible to hire qualified
people that are really trained and ready to
go," Breda said. "Someone you could just
toss the keys to and say, 'Okay, go out to Mrs.
Smith's house and take care of business.' It's
so unusual that you're going to get somebody like that."
Instead, Breda said, "You get a kid that's
got potential and you teach him your way.
Those are the ones that have the real staying
power."
Breda described the relationship between
an apprentice and an employer as "very reciprocal." He added, "You appreciate them and
they appreciate you – and usually you have
a very long employment history with those
kinds of guys."
Vinnie Valente, program manager in the
Connecticut Department of Labor's Office
of Apprenticeship Training, outlined how
apprenticeships work for attendees of an
OESP gathering in April in Forestville, Conn.
Apprentices in the program must be at
least 16 years old, Valente said. An employer
can take on an apprentice whether or not the
workplace is unionized.
Full-time work and classroom time are
required components of an apprenticeship
in Connecticut, which must last at least
one year, and must include 2,000 hours
of on-the-job training and 144 hours of
instruction.
In reply to a question from Mike Collins
of Somers Mechanical Services, Somers,
Conn., Valente confirmed that apprentices
can, in certain cases, receive academic credit.
For more information on the Connecticut
apprenticeship program, visit www.ct
apprenticeship.com.
Including the host Connecticut Valley
chapter, six chapters of the OESP were represented at the meeting at Nuchie's restaurant
in Forestville, Conn. The chapters were:
Garden State (New Jersey); Eastern
Connecticut; Fairfield County, Connecticut;
New Haven, Connecticut; and the Pioneer
Valley chapter from Massachusetts. Rick
Glownia, secretary of the Connecticut Valley
chapter, oversaw the meeting. l F O N
www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | MAY 2013
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