ERLANGER, Ky. — Traditional four year universities, community colleges and trade schools are all options for people trying to pursue an education, and ultimately a career. One Northern Kentucky company has created its own alternative, which aims to help fill the nationwide demand for skilled workers.
What You Need To Know
- Arlinghaus, a plumbing, heating and air conditioning company, started its own universities
- ’Students’ are brought on as employees and trained up in different specialties
- The university consists on classroom work, hands-on training and shadowing veteran employees
- The owners say it’s a good alternative to traditional college and trade schools
One of its participants, Nick Burkhardt, has a bachelor’s degree, and previously held a career in juvenile justice. But he said it was time for a change.
The program’s first class, heating and air, started in Jan. 2021 with eight students. They’re now all Arlinghaus HVAC technicians. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)
“I feel like I’m learning a lot. A lot of new concepts for me,” Burkhardt said. “While I’ve done my own personal home repairs and things like that in the past, this is all more on a professional level, getting to learn a new skill, new trade, along with learning the customer service aspect of things.”
Now he’s studying at Arlinghaus University. It may not be a university most have heard of, but that’s because it’s a new concept.
Arlinghaus, a heating, plumbing and air conditioning company, has been in the Erlanger/Elsemere area since 2008. Owners Heather and Brian Arlinghaus have been wanting to develop a system to train people up their way for the past 10 years, Heather said. While it was slightly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, that vision is now a reality.
“That’s why we started the university, was to make sure that we were gaining the right character of people to be able to teach them,” Heather Arlinghaus said.
Nick Glace is an instructor with the university. He said there’s high demand in the trade industry right now and that getting a good job doesn’t have to involve years at college.
“They spend how many thousands upon thousands of dollars? And then they end up working in a field that they never even went to school for,” Glace said. “You learn a skilled trade, that’s gonna be there for the rest of our lives, basically. And in turn, there’s no debt with it as well.”
The different sections of classes are broken into different specialties.
The program’s first class, heating and air, started in Jan. 2021 with eight students. They’re now all Arlinghaus HVAC technicians.
The university is about 25% classroom work, and 25% hands-on with in-house labs. The rest is composed of ride-alongs with veteran employees, and learning how to interact with customers.
“Once the guys were done with the class, they had a comfort level with everything they’re gonna see out there already,” Glace said. “Having somebody that’s been trained and competent in what they’re working on is definitely key to the longevity, and comfort of the homeowner as well, too.”
People who start with the university come on as employees with benefits and vacation time. That made it more attractive than other trade schools for Burkhardt, who is working toward a career as a plumber.
“This was an opportunity for me to make a transition into a new field while also still earning a living for myself and my family,” Burkhardt said. “I wanted to be able to give back and help people that are maybe in a situation that they don’t know how to handle. And I think that’s where the schooling comes in. They give me the skills to help them through that.”
With recent new additions, the company has 100 employees, Arlinghaus said.
