MB Haynes Corp. has been in business since 1921, and it has had a registered apprenticeship program since 1951.

The employee-owned, Asheville, N.C.-based company specializes in electrical, plumbing, HVAC/R, commercial security systems, solar, industrial and general building construction.

Shane Massey, internal operations manager for recruitment with Haynes’ electrical construction division, believes in apprenticeships. “Watching these apprentices grow, it’s why I get up and come to work every day,” he said. “I love to see them come in not knowing anything and watch them develop, going down a career path and turning into great electricians, plumbers, linemen, HVAC techs or welders.”

Massey has mentored leaders in other departments as they started apprenticeship programs, said Tamera Edwards, vice president of human resources. Company-wide involvement has helped MB Haynes’ apprenticeships be successful for nearly 60 years. The company also has won ApprenticeshipNC’s Outstanding Registered Apprenticeship Program award two years in a row.

“One reason that we are so successful with our apprenticeship program is because we literally have support from the top down,” Edwards said. “It literally takes a village to make a program like this work.”

Company President Fred Lewis agrees. “It’s up to us,” he said. “If we’re going to have a strong workforce in the future, it’s up to us to invest in them and to grow them.”