What happens when a plumbing pro pivots to become an instructor of his trade and eventually discovers a career as a workforce development coach for NexTech Academy? That’s the short version of Jeff Atwell’s story. The longer version – which Jeff shared with us recently – is interesting, inspiring, and goes to show the rewarding opportunities that can unfold when someone follows their passion and discovers their “why.”
Jeff says he fell into the trades the summer before his senior year in high school, when his brother recruited him for a seasonal job in new construction plumbing. “I earned a whopping five dollars per hour – this was 1988 after all – which, at the time, wasn’t a horrible wage for someone doing ‘grunt’ work on the jobsite,” Jeff remembers. “When I graduated high school, I needed a ‘grown-up’ job and returned to the new construction plumbing role for my brother.”
After honing his plumbing craft for 26 years, Jeff left field work and jumped over to sales. Then he heard about an open instructor position at a local apprentice school. It was there, teaching his students in night classes, that Jeff’s passion for mentoring and servant leadership in the trades took root.
“I experienced ‘hero-badge’ moments with the students when we’d connect the dots and they’d understand what we were learning in class,” Jeff says. “This was also a driving force for me when I was in the field working with customers. There’s something to be said for the honest appreciation you receive from customers when you help them problem-solve. I realized I missed that feeling when I left the field. I missed it so much that I began searching for opportunities to blend teaching with the plumbing trade, which I’d been in for nearly three decades.”
From here, Jeff says, he spotted a LinkedIn ad for a subject matter expert position with a team at NexTech Academy, the technical training offering of Nexstar Network. A few calls, conversations, and emails evolved into an interview, a job offer, and a full-time position as the first technical coach on the NexTech team.
Fast forward to today, and Jeff’s days as a workforce development coach are filled with conversations and emails serving Nexstar members and their employees with best-in-class coaching and plumbing expertise. “There is no typical day,” Jeff explains. “I begin by deciding which hat to wear, whether that’s coaching members, developing content, developing training, or meeting with colleagues. However, the best part of my job is supporting our members in the many facets of their businesses. This ranges from helping them get control of warranty calls and up-skilling their team to building their next generation of technicians and helping them articulate challenges and identify solutions in real time. It’s all rewarding!”
Any guesses as to Jeff’s superpower? “Data-mining and unearthing answers,” says Jeff. “I admit it: I’m a NERD! I love data and the story that numbers tell. Combine that with a tenacious appetite for problem-solving and puzzles (from my time in the field), and I’ll find the bottom of any rabbit hole for you.”
In his free time, Jeff enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and is an avid movie-watcher. Next time you catch up with him, ask Jeff which movie in the Matrix series is the best, in his humble opinion!
We at NexTech are grateful to have Jeff as an outstanding and knowledgeable leader on our coaching roster. His expertise, approachable presence, analytical mind, and valuable experience enables him to help our members achieve success while supporting apprentices learning about the trades.
