Page 9 - july-august 2021

safety & education

New U.S. Department of Labor

Apprenticeship for Propane Launched:

Apprenticeship to Help with Recruitment,

Development & Retention

By Kristen Card

orkforce development – recruit- vainly seeking to hire with no candidates show-
ing, training, and retaining good ing up for the jobs
employees – has been a growing Enter the National Propane Gas Associ-
Wconcern for the propane industry ation [NPGA] NPGA has been working for the
over the past few years, as companies across past few years with PERC and the U S Depart-
the country have found themselves struggling ment of Labor [DOL] to create an apprentice-
to attract and keep new workers, while current ship program for the propane industry, which has
workers are aging and retiring finally launched – and not a moment too soon.
In 2018, the Propane Education & Re-
search Council [PERC] surveyed propane mar- Continued on page 14...
keters from coast to coast to learn more about
the industry’s current workforce and the chal- Cathodic Protection Essentials
lenges they face in recruiting new workers The for underground propane tanks
Propane Industry Workforce Recruitment Survey
clearly showed a rising need for service techni-
cians and certified drivers. Among the survey’s
key takeaways:
• 43% will need to hire more service tech-
nicians than normal within the next 3-5 years;
•75% report that technicians younger Anode Test Rod
shown with digital
than 30 make up less than 10% of their service multi-meter & half cell
techs;
•48% of propane marketers will need to
hire more drivers than normal within the next 3-5 Cathodic Protection Testing Kit
years; Bergquist free on-site Cathodic Protection Training.
•81% report that drivers younger than 30 Contact your Area Sales Manager to set up a class time.
make up less than 10% of their drivers; and
•81% of propane marketers say hiring Magnesium Alloy Anode Bags
w/ 10' #12 coated wire
qualified techs is difficult or extremely difficult.
Now – as with everything nowadays – Dielectric Unions
add the COVID-19 crisis to the mix, and it com- Anode Clamp
plicates matters further: millions of Americans
unemployed as the pandemic shutters small Anode Ext. Lead
businesses nationwide, yet many industries now 800.448.9504 | bergquistinc.com

9 Alabama Propane Gas Association | July / August 2021