Apprentice Scholarship Program Develops Skilled Water Workers

by | Jun 3, 2022 | ServLine, Skilled Labor Gap, Water Solutions

The water and wastewater industry has suffered challenges attracting employees over the past few years. The ServLine by HomeServe Apprentice Scholarship is designed to address the challenges faced by rural water systems in attracting and developing the next generation of skilled workers to the industry by offsetting the utilities’ cost to train apprentices.

ServLine recognizes the importance of the NRWA and the rural water associations water utility industry training model, especially its impact for small systems, said Tom Rusin, CEO of ServLine parent HomeServe NA. We are proud to offer the ServLine by HomeServe Apprentice Scholarship to help encourage the next generation of water operators.

The program, launched in October 2021 with the Alliance of Indiana Rural Water (AIRW), initially awarded two scholarships. Ryan Frazier of Bedford, Indiana, a North Lawrence Water Authority employee, is the third recipient.

At the AIRW Conference on March 16, Ryan was awarded a $3,000 scholarship to attend the AIRW’s nationally recognized two-year training program.

Frazier, a former journeyman stonecutter and planer man at Indiana Limestone, was looking for a position with more stability during the pandemic. An opportunity as a water technician at North Lawrence Water presented itself in a local newspaper, and the rest is history.

I applied. I was looking for something more stable and to better myself during that unprecedented time of the pandemic. The stone industry comes and goes, but the water industry is something that will always be there. I was fortunate to have been chosen for this position. I really did not realize the whole scope of the water industry, and I learn something new every day, Frazier said.

ServLine by HomeServe partners with rural water utilities to offer a unique leak protection program that protects both residential and small commercial customers from unusually high water bills that result from water leaks on their property. ServLine is an affinity partner with AIRW and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and works with over 200 municipalities and water utilities. In the past seven years, ServLine has saved these utilities and customers over $22 million dollars.

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