North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc., a prominent electrical subcontractor with regional offices in Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, recently celebrated its 20th Apprentice Competition. The event provided a platform for students in the company’s in-house Apprenticeship Training Program to showcase their skills and further their professional development.
The friendly competition took place concurrently at the company’s Holliston, Massachusetts, headquarters and its regional offices in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Teams of apprentices rotated through various stations designed to test their knowledge, teamwork, and trade skills while accumulating performance-based points.
Challenges ranged from hands-on trade skills, such as pipe bending, lighting controls, and pipe rack challenges, to trivia stations like Jeopardy and Safety Bingo. Apprentices also navigated team-building exercises, including an indoor maze and a Race Car Rally.
In addition to trade skills, the event highlighted the company’s commitment to community service. Apprentices assembled several hundred personal care packages, which Griffin Electric is donating to veterans’ organizations throughout the Southeast and New England.
The event concluded with a company-provided luncheon, where top-scoring teams were recognized at an awards ceremony, with winning apprentices receiving medals and prizes. The competition also coincided with National Apprenticeship Week, allowing the company to celebrate the individuals who make up its program.
Griffin Electric’s four-year Apprenticeship Training Program has operated for more than 30 years, offering a debt-free alternative to traditional education. The state-approved and federally recognized program equips individuals with the fundamental tools to build careers in the construction industry. As part of their development, apprentices and electricians are also offered opportunities to travel for temporary assignments to gain leadership experience on high-profile projects across the company’s five regions.
In business since 1978, Griffin Electric employs nearly 1,500 individuals and was ranked 26th nationally in Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) 2025 list of top 50 electrical contr