At Impact Fire, we pride ourselves on our diverse group of talented and passionate fire and life safety professionals. While we continuously recruit qualified and experienced individuals, we also believe that talent can be nurtured through a robust and comprehensive apprenticeship program. We establish the foundation needed to ensure a sustainable and successful career by training individuals starting from their entry into the field and providing on-the-job and classroom education.
What Does the Apprenticeship Program Look Like?
Before jumping into why individuals value and work at Impact Fire as an apprentice/helper, let’s take a closer look at the apprenticeship program itself.
The apprenticeship program is designed to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to ensure a long and fruitful career in the fire and life safety industry. Individuals accepted into our apprenticeship program get hands-on experience while benefiting from the mentorship and training provided by leading licensed technicians at one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. The apprenticeship program spans multiple divisions including but not limited to:
- Fire alarms
- Fire sprinkler systems
- Fire extinguishers
- Special hazard fire protection
- Commercial kitchen fire suppression
3 Reasons to Work at Impact Fire as an Apprentice
Starting at the beginning of the career path for a test and inspection technician, the following excerpts from an interview with one of Impact Fire’s helpers, Ian, will help you understand why he chose to work at Impact Fire, and the unique benefits of starting your fire and life safety career in our comprehensive apprenticeship program.
Ian is one of our highly motivated technicians who has been accepted into our apprenticeship program and plans to make fire and life safety a long and fruitful career. We chose to highlight Ian’s perspective as his responses and character traits embody our core values.
Gain Fire and Life Safety Skills Through Hands-on Experience
Since the days of elementary school, we all have heard the benefits of learning skills through hands-on experiences. Compared to reading and memorization, hands-on learning provides individuals an opportunity to experience their learning, instead of being a passive participant.
Reading about fire protection equipment can only offer surface-level comprehension. Apprentices are supported with engaging opportunities to learn new skills through hands-on learning experiences in a collaborative environment. Our comprehensive apprenticeship program provides the valuable opportunity to gain on-the-job experience through working with fire protection equipment under the supervision of our experienced technicians. Our licensed technicians love to take on the role of mentoring incoming technicians and take pride in providing exceptional guidance and support.
At Impact Fire, we value our employees and provide the opportunity to start earning wages while they continue to learn. A standard apprenticeship program may supply how-to guides and step-by-step instructions, but a truly effective apprenticeship program will provide hands-on learning experiences to improve retention, build confidence, and bolster capabilities.
Receive Company-Sponsored Comprehensive Training
An essential component of the apprenticeship program is the extensive company-sponsored training courses and accredited certifications offered. Robust training opportunities allow apprentices and helpers to broaden their skills and pursue their interests in order to push their careers forward. All training opportunities are reimbursed upon achieving the required license or certification and meeting the requirements. Our company-sponsored training programs include:
- American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA)
- State-specific fire extinguisher, sprinkler, and alarm certifications
- National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET)
- Factory training and certifications from distributors and other serviced product lines
These cross-training opportunities ensure our helpers are diversified, knowledgeable, and fluent in fire protection codes and standards to ensure regulatory compliance. Our goal is to help apprentices reach their goals. We take pride in providing our dedicated apprentices the assistance to advance their careers and the skills needed to ensure they reach their fullest potential.
Ian, a test and inspection helper, had this to say about his future career goals and how Impact Fire is helping him achieve them:
“I see myself advancing [further in the fire protection] industry, fully licensed with a NICET level four certification in fire sprinkler testing and maintenance. Impact Fire has already helped me start this path by enrolling me in the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) program...Impact Fire gave me my foot in the door to this profession, and I look forward to many more years working for this company.”
Build Interpersonal Skills and Learn How to Operate in a Team
Individuals accepted into the apprenticeship program gain valuable experience learning how to operate in a collaborative team environment where each individuals’ contribution is necessary to achieve success.
Ian views the enriching daily collaborative process in the following way:
“Working with my team makes me a better technician by [allowing me] to learn from their past experiences...Being relatively newer to the industry, every time I’m with another co-worker I feel I’m always expanding on my knowledge...Helping [one another] complete a job or just our sarcastic banter back and forth, it’s great to be part of an awesome team.”
In order to be successful in the service industry, apprentices must learn how to communicate effectively, courteously, and professionally. Through on-the-job, hands-on experiences, helpers build interpersonal skills by interacting with their dispatcher, other field technicians, and customers from every walk of life.
Start Your Career as an Apprentice at Impact Fire
We ensure our apprentices are field-ready by providing them a holistic fire and life safety education that includes bolstering their hard skills as well as building interpersonal skills such as teamwork, dependability, and leadership.
Whether you have transferable skills, prior industry experience, or are looking to start your journey, our apprenticeship programs will give you the support and knowledge you need to go further in your fire and life safety career. Interested individuals that meet the program’s criteria should get in touch with us to learn more about applying for an apprenticeship in their division of choice.
A special thanks to Impact Fire’s employee, Ian, for helping us illustrate the value of starting your career with us in our comprehensive apprenticeship program. We wish you continued success in your inspiring journey to becoming a NICET-licensed fire sprinkler technician.
