Rondell Joyner was selected as one of the 50 Faces of Apprenticeship campaign through the U.S. Department of Labor.
Joyner is a third-year plumbing apprentice in NEFBA’s Apprenticeship Program who works for North Florida Plumbing, a commercial and residential plumbing company in the area since 1985.
Rondell Joyner learned he was going to be a father, and it changed his life.
“At that moment, I knew my life would never be the same,” the 30-year-old Jacksonville native said. “I decided then I would devote my life trying to provide the best lifestyle for my child.”
That decision led him to NEFBA’s Apprenticeship Program. Monitored by the state Department of Education’s Registered Apprenticeship Program to ensure it meets federal standards, NEFBA’s program is a highly structured training system in which apprentices work full-time, for a sponsoring employer (a NEFBA member) learning the skills of the trade.
At completion, an apprentice is considered a journey worker. Apprentices also receive a nationally and internationally recognized State Completion Certificate.
Joyner’s apprenticeship program requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and at least 600 hours of classroom trade instruction.
“This is an extremely difficult track,” Christina Thomas, the NEFBA’s apprenticeship program training director, said. “However, by meeting federal standards, we are able to set up students like Rondell for success anywhere, not just here in Florida.”
Joyner is considered a top plumbing apprentice, training coordinator Laura Harrington said. So she nominated him for the honor.
Today, he is a third-year plumbing apprentice working for North Florida Plumbing where his supervisor sees his potential and believes Joyner will transform his training into a prosperous career.
“I have no doubt that Rondell will be successful in the plumbing trade,” Chris Croft, the company’s president, said. “He is now training a new ‘pre-apprentice’ so he can pass the trade down to others. I couldn’t be happier having Rondell as a part of the North Florida Plumbing team. He has a job with us for as long as he desires.”
Joyner is working toward his future and his daughter’s.
“This apprenticeship was an opportunity for me to ground myself in a career that one day my daughter would be proud of,” Joyner said. “And no matter how frustrating, tiring or impossible life may seem, I press on knowing this is all for her.”
Editor’s note: The “DOL Working for You” series highlights the Labor Department’s programs in action.
Eric R. Lucero, a deputy director in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Public Affairs in Atlanta, told Joyner’s story in a DOL blog April 12 (https://blog.dol.gov/2017/04/12/leaky-faucets-changing-diapers).