“I can’t afford to train my own technicians.”
Nexstar members used to say this a lot. When we launched NexTech Academy in 2018, we set out to help them tackle the challenge of in-house training. At the time, apprenticeship programs and training classes for commercial new construction had been the status quo for decades, and training team members – in addition to their normal work schedules – didn’t seem like too much of a stretch for many members. But NexTech Academy training focused on residential service and replacement.
And it changed the game.
Our original timeline for training was 18-24 months, which was half of the expected time of an apprenticeship program. On paper, it made sense. Most other apprenticeship programs slowly trained those new to the trade, allowing adequate time for processing and retention. But Nexstar members immediately asked if they could train faster.
A few trailblazing members took that 18–24-month recommendation and whittled it down to six months, and it worked. The idea that one could train full-time, inside a business, became reality. As the news spread across the membership, more and more companies jumped on the training bandwagon. A variety of in-house universities and academies began popping up across the country. They also began showing up on social media.
That made sense – these companies were using social media to get the word out about their paid training offerings. They were also showcasing their success stories and recruiting events. This attracted the new talent needed to feed the training programs, and a recruiting and retention cycle began clicking into place for the companies.
At NexTech, the variety of training success stories got us thinking. Why were some companies more successful at training in-house than others? As we looked deeper into the data, we found that the most successful training programs, regardless of size and scale, had some commonalities that couldn’t be ignored. These commonalities became the basis of our four-pillar training model. And identifying the foundational elements of in-house training success prompted the NexTech team to develop our Certified Training Leader Workshop.
The feedback members have been sharing validates that we’re on the right path. Because the elements of the four-pillar model are universal to any in-house training program, even those universities and academies that aren’t using NexTech content can benefit from what we offer.
To date, the NexTech Academy Tech Builder Training Program has 959 program graduates that are quickly becoming top performers in their organizations.
The impact that our training program has had across the home service industries and in the Nexstar membership is beyond anything we could have imagined. Take it from us: the limit to your own growth is your imagination.
Take a second to view our timeline journey of building NexTech Academy and marking our 5-year Anniversary as an amazing accomplishment for the next generation of technicians.
Interested in learning more about NexTech Academy’s skilled trades training? Visit our website, or email us at [email protected].
