By: Lucinda Merritt
Earning a salary for on-the-job training and graduating debt free are just two of the many benefits for students in the construction trade apprenticeship programs at Santa Fe College. Through partnership with the Builders Association of North Central Florida, SF offers four-year programs for aspiring electricians, plumbers and heating and air conditioning technicians. There is also a two-year track for those who want to work as carpenters.
Active BANCF members sponsor these apprentices, paying them to work 40 hours a week and paying their tuition bill for the twice-weekly classes at the college. In a final community service project, apprentices in each of the trades work together to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.
“Students get 2,000 hours of on-the-job training annually and well over 100 hours of related classroom instruction,” said Justin MacDougall, SF’s apprenticeships advisor. “In class, they learn the language of the trade, about different tools, how and why things work. By the time they graduate, they will have earned about $150,000 and can expect to earn $50,000 a year minimum working in their chosen trade.”
Constructing Career Ladders
Upon graduation, many of the newly minted journeyworkers, at the middle level between apprentices and masters of their trades, choose to move up their respective career ladders.
A typical progression for these program graduates would mean starting as technicians, then moving into
supervisory roles and, eventually, taking positions as project managers. Others choose to start their own businesses or begin teaching.
“People tend to stay local, even if they switch companies,” MacDougall said. He cited one example of a student who went through the electrical apprenticeship program. That student eventually started his own company and is now teaching and sponsoring two students who are working for him.
Apprenticeship students defy stereotypes, according to MacDougall.
“I see a lot of people who have a family background in construction because they know it’s a lucrative career,” he said. “We’ve also had everyone from a B.A. in accounting to younger people who want to turn their lives in positive directions. It’s not just men who choose the trades. Last year, four women graduated from the programs.”
Growing With the Community
When MacDougall became SF’s apprenticeship advisor, 76 people were enrolled. Today, there are 240 students. 
“We’ve increased industry sponsors and enrollment because employers see how effectively these programs can create employees for local construction firms,” he said.
According to BANCF, 92 percent of students complete their apprenticeships. Graduates may go on to earn Journey Worker certificates from the Florida Department of Education, as well as other certificates from the Builders Association and Santa Fe College. The program holds a 99 percent retention rate for apprentice employment.
BANCF and SF will soon add two new apprenticeship programs, a two-year building maintenance program in fall 2023 and a four-year sheet metal program in the spring of 2024.
“During COVID, we all saw how essential plumbers and construction workers are,” MacDougall said. “Graduates from apprenticeship programs earn good salaries in trades where they can build their own careers. On their way to graduation, students learn exactly what it means to build a community.”
For information, visit sfcollege.edu/construction/#apprenticeship or call Apprenticeship Advisor Justin MacDougall at 352-395-5251.