Former firefighter, recent college grad 'Train in Maine'

From the Battery to Blizzards

New England Tech Air brought six trainees to Maine from Charleston to learn the skills they'll need to work on the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and duct work in the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. Here, two trainees share the stories that took them from the Battery to blizzards.

Nick Cave

Thirteen years spent running into burning buildings or arriving first on the scene of tragic accidents would take its toll on anyone. So when a friend mentioned a unique opportunity that would change not only his career path, but where he would live and work, Nick Cave gave it a shot. And he's glad he did: He learned an entirely new trade as a sheet metal mechanic and ultimately will be part of the massive MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital project back in Charleston, his hometown.

The former firefighter and paramedic, who has also worked as a welder, said the experience he's gained through the Train in Maine program is preparing him to work on the MUSC project. He wants his work to be flawless by the time he returns. For him, it’s personal. Today, Cave is in Boston installing ductwork – in charge of the entire set up. He no longer needs the oversight of his NETA supervisors to properly complete a job. This installation requires him to call upon every bit of the training he received, but he enjoys the challenge and the way this new line of work has helped him hone his critical thinking abilities. “I’ve got this,” he said confidently, “I’ve learned from the best.” 

When he started, he had zero experience, and that was a strange feeling. “I was kind of lost," Cave admitted. “I didn’t know how to read blueprints. It’s easy to me now. Give me the prints, and I go on my way,” he said. 

Life is easier on a personal level, too. Cave breathes easier without the stress he felt as a firefighter and paramedic. The work was grueling and the gravity of constantly dealing with life and death was wearing on him.

“I needed a break,” he said. “I was starting to feel the burnout, and I didn’t want to be ‘that person’ – the person who becomes negative. This opportunity came at the perfect time and has given me a new direction – one I wouldn’t have thought to look into. I’m very thankful this came my way.”

Had it not been for a call from his friend Frank Ancrum of Hard Hat Transportation, who introduced him to the representatives of New England Tech Air, he probably wouldn’t have looked into sheet metal work. After interviewing for the program, he was one of five men selected for the training program in Maine. He actually knew the others. “I grew up with J.R. and Graylon and met John through them,” he said. “Later in life, I met Mike, and we became the best of friends.”

He characterizes the experience as “a good thing.” 

"I actually like sheet metal,” he said. “I never would have thought that I would. It was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. But in the shop in Maine, I learned about the process from start to finish. They put me on one project – it took critical thinking for me. We had to figure out problems. But once I got it, I was floating and flying.  By me working with these guys who have been doing this a long time, I am learning something new every day. They are showing me better and safer and quicker ways to do things. I’m constantly watching them. Throughout this whole experience, I’ve learned so much and met so many people. It’s cool.” 

A different kind of "cool" is something he knows a lot more about now, too. “I was working in a building that was minus two degrees. Minus two degrees. I can’t tell you how cold that is. And I drive a lot in the snow. When it’s snowing hard, I drive 30 miles an hour while the truckers are flying by me at least 60,” he admitted with a laugh. 

Cave looks forward to returning to Charleston's milder weather and working on the new Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. NETA has flown him home once a month since he’s been in the training program. Last month, he flew instead to Texas to meet his new nephew, C.J. His sister had given birth the month before, and he’d not been able to meet the newest member of the family. It meant a lot to him, he said, that they ensured he got that chance.

Sarah Falt

A program like New England Tech Air’s can make all the difference in the world in a person’s life. When Sarah Falt got the call in 2016 from the drafting manager at NETA, she was both elated and relieved. The timing was perfect for her to go to Maine and train and work as a draftsman, she said. Having graduated from college in 2013, she was struggling to find what she called a legitimate job, so she decided just months before to enroll in an adult education program and take night classes at Trident Tech to improve her knowledge and skills. 

"I had gotten a liberal arts degree in historic preservation from the College of Charleston, which is perfect for Charleston, but without a master’s, I was working in furniture stores and as a personal assistant. I wasn’t able to make ends meet, and I wasn’t doing what I wanted to be doing, which was drafting. My dream was to be an architectural draftsman working in interior design, but I didn’t have a skill, so I thought adding some additional courses would help make me more attractive to employers.”

Her plan was right on the money. Having completed three of the five requisite courses, one of her professors recognized her talent and connected her with a representative of NETA, who was looking for entry-level draftsmen and willing to pay a good wage.  

“This opportunity was awesome for me after struggling for so long. Mike Smith, the manager of the CAD Department, told me I’d be training at the office with the whole team in southern Maine. The starting wage was a lot higher than anything I’d seen in Charleston, and I would be doing only simple drafting, which is what I went to school to do.” 

They put her up in a really nice apartment, she said, and took very good care of her. During the rigorous three-month period, not only did she thrive, she found her passion. And while her training is over, she continues to work with the team in Maine. 

“The entire experience has been so helpful," she said. “I knew nothing of sheet metal or HVAC systems. The training went really well.”  

She and the others will move back down in late spring, and she plans to stay in Charleston. Funny enough, Falt hails from Mount Desert Island, Maine, which is only 3 ½ hours away from Scarborough. It's one of the reasons she felt an immediate connection with the company.

It’s an industry she thinks she will stay with. “I work on the Children’s Hospital project every day. It’s an awesome project, and I am just honored to be part of it, especially as a woman. When I started, there were no other women in the drafting department at NETA. It’s a very male-oriented field. I am very glad that they were willing to give me a chance, even though I was someone who knew nothing about mechanical engineering and sheet metal. I really like the people I work with a lot, and it’s been fun. Thanks to them, I now have a tangible skill.”