Kent Hartwig, a long-time supporter of HVAC apprenticeships in the Palm Beach County area, he retired from his position as Palm Beach State College Apprenticeship Program Director.

A native of Ohio, Kent moved to Florida in 1983 after graduating with a BS in Technology Education from Morehead State University in Kentucky. He taught machining, welding and electrical at John I. Leonard H.S. in West Palm from 1983 through 2004.

Kent worked as Program Coordinator with the Florida Air Conditioning Apprenticeship Association (FACAA) in West Palm Beach from 1995 until 2004 when he accepted the Apprenticeship Program Director position at Palm Beach State College (then PBCC).

“I have always had a great respect for the way apprenticeship works through the process of tying together on the job training with classroom teaching,” Kent stated. “It is the ultimate way to learn as they can take experiences they have during the workday and apply them to the curriculum and topics discussed in the classroom.”

Kent had the responsibility of overseeing all trade apprenticeship programs in Palm Beach county as Director and worked closely with the FACAA program, helping it become one of the best in the state.

Since retiring Kent has joined FACAA full-time and has had opportunities to visit contractors and work more closely with vendors. “It is a wonderful feeling to see so many past students who are successful in the trade and many of those owning their own businesses. I’ve found that the HVAC industry in south Florida is like a large family. It is a big business with a big heart all you have to do is give it your best!”

“Kent has done a lot to help with the education of students and tradesmen for 30 years and his passion for the trades is unsurpassed,” FACAA Program Director Steve Sparks stated. “We are excited and appreciative that he has come out of retirement to join us at FACAA.”

“I enjoy the challenges and rewards of being a part of providing new technicians with a career they can continue to build for the rest of their life and am glad that I can help FACAA,” Kent concluded.

Contact Kent by calling 561.383.1638 or emailing kent.facaa@gmail.com.