2020 Apprenticeship Openings

As we gear up for a very busy summer here at James CRAFT & Son it is once again time for us to open up our apprenticeship program and fill our available spaces with men and women who are ready and willing to accept the challenge.
What is an apprentice you ask? Apprentices are men and women who are formally enrolled in our Federally Approved Apprenticeship Program. Apprentices work in their assigned trades while attending classes in subjects related to the trade for a minimum of 144 hours per year, each year of their apprenticeship.  Tuition fees are paid by the Company—additional materials paid by the apprentice.
This program is the heart and soul of James CRAFT & Son many of our current Project Manager, Estimators, Foreman and Lead People once started out in our Apprenticeship Program. The education and formal trading gained in this program is second to none.
For 2020 we have openings in our Plumbing/Pipe-fitting Program, Electrician Program, & our Sheet Metal Program. We will be accepting applications from April 20th to  May 1st, 2020. Applicants must apply in person and are required to provide the documentation listed below.
Individuals interested in becoming an apprentice must apply in person and furnish copies of the following non-returnable materials:

  1. Proof of age (copy for our records of birth certificate or similar document).
  2. Copy of High School Diploma or GED Certificate, if applicable.
  3. Transcripts of Last Grade Completed from Guidance Department of school attended.
  4. Proof of Trade Work Experience, if any (letter from employer noting experience).
  5. Form 214 for Veterans applying. Other forms may be needed.
  6. Three Letters of Reference from acquaintances, other than family.

For more information about the program, check out our Careers Section of the website or call Jessica (Director of Human Resources) at 717-266-6629.

2019 Safety Day

On Friday, December 13, 2019 James CRAFT & Son held its annual Safety Day at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in West York. Safety Day is important at CRAFT – our entire company comes together from various jobsites, customer locations and the office to focus on up and coming industry safety trends, refresh our current safety skills and celebrate another year of success as a company. This year’s safety topics included Blood-borne Pathogen Training, Ladder Safety, Driver Safety Training, as well as Lifting & Jobsite Ergonomics. Employees also spent time learning about updates to their Employees Benefits, available ancillary benefits, and our new Employee Portal. It wouldn’t be Safety Day without recognizing our amazing employees for their safety and years of service accomplishments. This year’s honorees were:

Safety Awards

5 Year Safety Award Winners (L to R): Jason Glatfelter, Mike Hunt, Denny Poff, Dennis Judy, Joe Patterson, Jason Smith (not pictured)
10 Year Safety Award Winner: Ryan Nickol
20 Year Safety Award Winners (L to R): Guy Pandolfino, John Myers
25 Year Safety Award Winner: Steve Witmer

Years of Service Awards

Leon Goudy – 20 Years
Fred Craft – 40 Years

Apprenticeship Signing Day – August 2019

Earlier this month we held our first ever Apprenticeship Signing Day here at James CRAFT & Son.  We spent the afternoon welcoming our newest apprentices and going over the details of their program, which will be starting in just a few short weeks.  This year we have a bumper crop of apprentices, representing three areas of skilled trades: Plumbing Mechanic, Sheet Metal Mechanic & HVAC Technician.

Please join me in welcoming the Class of 2023!

Plumbing Apprentices:

  • David Barth
  • TJ Craft
  • Zachary Hagerman
  • Jonathan Hollinger
  • Nathan Mummert
  • Trenton Potts (non pictured)
  • Lucas Teare
  • Nickolas Young

Sheet Metal Apprentice:

  • Katherine Hoover

HVAC Technician Apprentices:

  • Steven Bach
  • Carmen Duca
 
 
Clockwise L to R: Nate Mummert (Plbg), David Barth (Plbg), Steven Bach (HVAC), TJ Craft (Plbg)
L to R: Luke Teare (Plbg), Zach Hagerman (Plbg)
Clockwise L to R: Jon Hollinger (Plbg), Nick Young (Plbg), Carmen Duca (HVAC), Katherine Hoover (Sheet Metal)

CRAFT Core Values

In 2018 the 4th & 5th Generation Owners & Mangers of James CRAFT & Son set out to define the top 5 Core Values that best represent us.  Doing this was no small feat.  How do you define nearly 120 years of quality CRAFTsmanship, family tradition and fundamental guiding values in just five words? (spoiler alert: we used six words)

It took some serious thinking, a few good-natured debates, and multiple revisions but here’s what we ultimately settled on . . .

These stated values are the guiding principals of James CRAFT & Son – and are are intended to be an unwavering guide for everyone of us as we all strive toward fulfilling our mission and reaching our goals.

If you are approached by a member of the management team and asked to recite these 5 Core Values, will you be able to?

Congratulations Spring 2018 Graduates

May is an exciting month as we celebrate three of our upcoming graduates. 

Service Department Co-op Students Charles Smith and Raymond Mattie-Torres will both graduate from the York County School of Technology in early June. Both young men have spent their spring semesters working with our Senior Service Technicians. Through this process they’ve experienced hands on learning, while also receiving work experience and the opportunity to practice soft skills with our customers and employees.  We are exceptionally proud of how Ray and Charles have grown during this time, and we’re thrilled to announce they both will be starting full-time with us following YCST graduation.

Electrical Apprentice, Michael Cramer, will graduate from the ABC Apprenticeship Program at the end of May.  Mike is also a graduate of the York County School of Technology (class of 2013). Over the past four years Mike has proven to be a diligent student and an excellent electrical apprentice working side by side with our service department and field teams. We are excited for him to complete the apprenticeship, after which he’ll be sitting for the Electrical Journeyman’s test to earn a Journeyman’s License.

Please join us in congratulating these three fine young men. We are very proud of them and their very bright futures.

Please join us in congratulating these three fine young men. We are very proud of them and know they have bright futures ahead.

Red Lion Student Tour

On December 14th, James CRAFT & Son had the good fortune to host Red Lion High School juniors and seniors for an information session and tour.  Kimberly Morris, Career Coordinator for Red Lion Area School District, identified seven students interest in Careers in Construction to visit our facility.

During their visit the students learned about the history of James CRAFT & Son, the career opportunities available at our organization, what it takes to work in the construction field, and (most importantly) found out about the Apprenticeship Program opportunities available through James CRAFT & Son.

The students were able to witness firsthand some of the operations at CRAFT while taking tours of our Pre-Fab and Sheet Metal Shops as well as our Drafting Department.

 

After the tour the student sat down for a question and answer session.

It was a great day for everyone involved.

James CRAFT & Son offers tours to student groups throughout the year.

If your student group is interested in a visit, please contact Jessica Craft Schlosberg at any time.

3 Keys To A Successful Internship (meet Will Hollis)

In January of this year we welcomed Will Hollis, an Applied Engineering and Technology Management major at Millersville University to our drafting department. Will was looking to participate in an internship where he could apply the skills he learned in the classroom in a real working environment. We were hoping to add another technical mind to our drafting department, so it turned out to be a perfect match.

Will spent the first half of 2017 working several days per week alongside our talented team of draftsmen and design engineers to learn the technical needs of mechanical construction. During this internship Will learned to apply his classroom knowledge to understanding the design and drafting process including layouts, detail drawings and how mechanical systems work together in a limited amount of space. He especially enjoyed having the ability to see his digital creations in real life on our job sites.

We were so impressed with Will’s dedication, talents and personality, we asked him to stick around after graduation. We are pleased to announce that in late May, Will joined our team as a full time Draftsman.

When asked for some advice on completing an internship Will had three keys:

  1. Use Everything As a Learning Experience– Will didn’t start doing real drafting work for several months. Instead, he practiced on previously completed drawings from old projects. As first it seemed a little strange, however, as time went on, he learned it was important to understand all of the detail work that went into each drawing. Learning to layer mechanical systems together with fixtures and structural components within a building helped to build his confidence and skill set.
  2. Keep an Open Mind– When Will first arrived in our drafting department he didn’t get to dive right into AutoCad. Instead, he learned to copy drawings, how to digitally file them and where to store the drawings when completed. While it sounds monotonous, those basic skills are something Will draws on every day.
  3. Be a Swiss Army Knife– Will said his best advice is “learn how to be helpful anywhere”. Don’t be afraid to start from the ground up. The more you know, the better you can perform.

 

 

Bell and Evans Job Site Visit

Recently members of G5 took to the road and visited the job in Fredericksburg, PA. This particular facility will become a hatchery for a chicken processing plant for Bell & Evans and is set to open later in 2017. 

The crew for this project represents 25 of James CRAFT & Son’s finest. The Members of G5 were able to bring pizza for the hungry crew as well as tour the facility with site foreman Nate Cooper.

Our team has been hard at work installing multiple piping lines to carry domestic hot and cold water as well as complex pressurized hot water and chemical lines. Each line requires a unique gauge of copper or stainless steel piping. While I’m sure keeping material for each line installed straight requires a lot of thought and organization, our crew, as always, makes it look easy.

Beating the Summer Heat

It has been a very busy summer here at James CRAFT & Son. Our job sites are running full steam, and the service department is working very hard to keep customers cool and comfortable.  Meanwhile back in York Haven the warehouse and both shops are hopping – fulfilling piping and sheet metal orders to support our field operations.  Not to mention our office staff who have continued to provide support, while the sales & estimating departments find more work to keep us busy into 2017.

A few weeks ago The Craft Family decided that all work and no play makes for a very dull day. We hit the pause button and rewarded our office, warehouse and shop employees with a special lunch.

James P. Craft, Steven Kearns and Fred Craft grilled up a delicious lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixings. Everyone enjoyed time for lunch and socializing before the Ice Cream Truck from Sarah’s Creamery arrived to dish out some homemade ice cream.

The Craft Family would like to take a moment to thank each and every employee for their hard work and dedication, not only during the hot summer months, but every day, all year long. 

2016 Apprenticeship Openings

It’s a wonderful time of the year…..

As we gear up for a very busy summer here at James CRAFT & Son it is once again time for us to open up our apprenticeship program and fill our available spaces with men and women who are ready and willing to accept the challenge.

What is an apprentice you ask? Apprentices are men and women who are formally enrolled in our Federally Approved Apprenticeship Program. Apprentices work in their assigned trades while attending classes in subjects related to the trade for a minimum of 144 hours per year, each year of their apprenticeship. Tuition fees are paid by the Company—additional materials paid by the apprentice.

This program is the heart and soul of James CRAFT & Son as many of our current Project Managers, Estimators, Foremen and Lead People once started out in our Apprenticeship Program.  The education and formal training our apprentices gain in this program is second to none!

This year we have openings in our Plumbing/Pipe-fitting Program as well as our Sheet Metal Program. We will be accepting applications from April 18th to April 28th, 2016. Applicants must apply in person and are required to provide the documentation listed below.

  1. Proof of age (copy for our records of birth certificate or similar document).
  2. Copy of High School Diploma or GED Certificate, if applicable.
  3. Transcripts of Last Grade Completed from Guidance Department of school attended.
  4. Proof of Trade Work Experience, if any (letter from employer noting experience).
  5. Form 214 for Veterans applying. Other forms may be needed.
  6. Three Letters of Reference from acquaintances, other than family.

Please note:  documents provided are non-returnable.

For more information about the program, check out the Careers section of our website or call Jessica-Director of Human Resources at 717-266-6629.