Tim Mosley, manager of field personnel at Haskell, is a graduate of NEFBA’s carpentry apprentice program.
He is a prime example of how an apprentice can move up through the ranks. He has been with Haskell for 29 years having worked his way up from laborer, to carpenter’s helper, journeyman, foreman, assistant superintendent, superintendent and to his current position.
Mosley said he did not actually choose his career path. It chose him.
“Almost by default, I found myself enrolled in the carpentry program when I entered Orange Park High School in the early 1980s,” he said. “At the end of middle school, we were given some papers to fill out that indicated what classes we would take in high school. I remember the choices were electrical wiring and carpentry. I put off making a decision, but when I went to school in the fall, I had been enrolled in the carpentry classes.”
And, that summer between middle school and high school, he received some advice from his uncle that has guided his life ever since.
“That summer while working on my uncle’s farm, I received good advice about building a future,” Mosley said. “My uncle told me to find a trade, become good at that trade and then pursue a career. I still pass that advice on to people who are trying to make decisions about a career.”
After high school, Mosley landed a job with Haskell as a general laborer. Before long the company saw how much he had learned in high school and sponsored him in the NEFBA program.
Mosley is still grateful and sees the NEFBA program as one that offers important benefits.
“Apprenticeship gives you a distinct advantage,” Mosley said. “You walk on to the job site the first day equipped with the knowledge needed to do the job. My first day, I was able to demonstrate that knowledge to the supervisor in a way that so impressed him, he put me in charge of layout. My actual response was, ‘Anyone can do that,’ but because I could actually do what he asked, he saw beyond my youth and perhaps flip answer.”
Mosley is in a position to interview and hire for Haskell. He tells people considering the apprenticeship program how valuable the program is and what it says to potential employers.
“I tell anyone considering the apprentice program that trade training and experience won’t let you down and can take you as far as you want to go in life,” he said. “Apprentices applying for jobs show me they are dedicated and committed simply because they went through the four-year program. I’ll give an apprentice an edge on salary compared to someone with equivalent experience but lacking the education component.”
Apprenticeship programs are not new, but Mosley says they are more relevant than ever.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without having been an apprenticeship,” he said. “During my career at Haskell, I worked from laborer to management. I practiced a satisfying trade, and I was able to travel the country doing work I enjoyed. I see too many people today trying to get a job — any job — just to earn enough to live on. The apprentice program gives them an immediate salary, excellent education, on-the-job training and ultimately a career path that will always sustain them.”
For more than 40 years, the Northeast Florida Builders Association Apprenticeship Program has trained qualified applicants on a career path in the construction industry.
Upon completion of the four-year, earn-while-you-learn program, an apprentice graduate is skilled in a construction trade as a carpenter, electrician, plumber or heating and air-conditioning technician. Participating NEFBA member employers pay apprentice tuition and salary, and Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College provide the training facilities and instructors.
To learn more about NEFBA’s Apprenticeship Program, call (904) 421-0296.