CPI Enhances Service Quality With Industry Pathway for Recruits

Information may not be reliable

Mt Vernon, WA: Friday February 12, 2021 – A trusted plumbing and heating specialist is offering a gateway to recruits searching for a career in the industry.

Brad Tully and Oly Olsen, CPI Plumbing & Heating owners, have conceived a 12-month program that gives a real-time apprentice experience of every aspect of the job, and a launchpad towards their Washington State Residential Specialty Plumbing License.

Based at their Mt Vernon training academy, apprentices will receive paid, benefited, full-time employment at CPI as they learn the ins and outs of plumbing and HVAC.

CPI is a trusted name across the Whatcom, Skagit, Island and northern Snohomish communities. It has gained an excellent reputation for quality service and fast problem-solving of residential repairs, replacements, maintenance, and installation needs.

Tully and Olsen hit on the idea of promoting home-grown, trained talent into the industry in 2019. They created an academy at their Mt Vernon warehouse to provide plenty of hands-on experience and address a wide range of situations a tech might face, including worst-case scenarios. 

The scheme includes virtual reality training, written quizzes and in-person assessments. Last October, the first class was held with four students, and a second class occurred in January 2021. An HVAC-focused training session is planned for mid-2021.

The program is overseen by Steve Murray, CPI’s HVAC department manager. He has nearly 40 years’ industry experience, including 20 years as a certified vocation instructor. He is a licensed 06A Specialty electrician, a member of the CITC Mechanical Trades Apprenticeship Council and a CEU instructor for both online and live classes.

The academy’s ambition is to provide the industry with well-rounded and experienced recruits at a time when it is experiencing an outflow of retiring plumbers and electricians.

The scheme is built to allow a recruit to obtain their state license for residential plumbing. Washington State requires 6,000 hours of experience to get the permit, capped at 2,000 hours annually. 

Initial training is learnt through Murray before they move to accompany supervising technicians and ride-along observations. At the end of the training, the apprentice will move forward to the next steps of their career and work toward having their work truck.

Once fully trained, they can then potentially join the ranks of CPI’s workforce, which offers a full-plumbing and HVAC service approach for local residences, 365 days a year. 

For more on CPI’s apprenticeship program, visit www.cpiplumbing.com/careers.