Peterman Brothers preparing for new training facility
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Greenwood-based Peterman Brothers is nearing completion of a nearly $6 million facility that will house its Top Tech Academy training program. Launched in late 2020, the program was created to address a shortage of labor in skilled trades, including HVAC and plumbing technicians. “Rather than sitting around and complaining, we were going to have to find really good people and then teach them the technical side of things, and that is how it came to be,” said President Chad Peterman.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Peterman said they realized early on there was a lot of demand for that type of training.
“In our first class, we had over 1,000 applicants for the school to fill 17 spots, so we had our work cut out for us,” said Peterman. “What we were happy to see was that there was a lot of interest in gaining a career in the trades.”
The academy currently operates out of the company’s former headquarters in Greenwood, but has since run out of space. Peterman said they purchased an 11-acre parcel next to its current headquarters on which to build the 54,000-square-foot building, which will not only house the academy but also warehousing and inventory for the company.
“Our learning center where the Top Tech Academy will be [will feature] a fully-functional lab,” he said. “We’ve got about a 5,000-square-foot lab in this one with…basically a house built inside where students can learn and fully-functional HVAC systems. We’re planning for close to 70 students in our next class.”
As the number of college-going students continues to decline in Indiana, Peterman said it is important to provide more options for graduating high school students.
“The great thing about our program is we pay the students to learn, so they’re essentially going to run through an 8-12 week program while they’re getting compensated. And then, they’re right out in the workforce with…no debt. So they’re not paying off huge student loans and things of that nature. They’re out there producing.”
Since its launch, the Top Tech Academy has graduated about 150 students with about 43 students currently going through the program.
With the new facility set to be complete in the next three to four weeks, Peterman says the academy will be adding electrical service and HVAC equipment and installation courses in addition to its HVAC and plumbing service courses.
Peterman Brothers currently provides services in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Columbus, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Muncie. Peterman says looking long-term, they plan to continue evolving the curriculum and hopefully expand the academy to additional locations.
“Really, our goal over the next year or two as we continue to expand – we’re looking at territories in northern Indiana, one in Terre Haute, and even further south – is to figure out how we can scale this academy to really service really all of the state of Indiana. Obviously, I can’t have a student drive from South Bend every day to Indy for class, so it’s how do we set up more locations while still having the same impact via the curriculum and the training.”
You can learn more about the academy by clicking here.