This summer's student job market is as tight as it has been in more than two decades. And, the market for those completing their education is not much better.
Applications for minimum wage summer jobs are running as high as 20 to 30 for one opening. As a potential employer recently explained, "This summer those seeking employment are competing against others who have several years of experience and training."
But there is one group that is not only making money toward their educational expenses but also is gaining practical business experience in the process. They are called "Tuition Painters."
Started in 1996 in Cary, NC, by Paul E. Flick and Barry Lake, the company moved its headquarters to 114 King St., Alexandria, in January 2003, when Flick became sole owner and president. "I actually did this as a student myself in Canada for a company known as Student Painting," said Flick, a Canadian.
"The student painting industry started in 1972 in Thunder Bay, Ontario Province, under the guidance of Greg Clark," according to Flick who now has student painting operations from Ohio to New York to the Carolinas. "This summer we just initiated our first group in Ontario, Canada," he said.
More than just a group of guys going around hunting for painting jobs to make some money over the summer, Tuition Painters is an organized, professional, enterprise. It teaches participants the skill of residential and commercial painting, as well as sales, estimating, marketing, customer service, cost control, and personnel management.
THOSE WORKING in a given location are usually residents of that area and, therefore, can live at home saving on additional expenses, according to Michael Abdeljabbar, the marketing and production representative for the Alexandria area. A native Alexandrian, he is also a student at Virginia Tech.
Throughout the 80 branches operating on the east coast and in the midwest, the company employs approximately 650 to 700 students. They are divided into three categories, Abdeljabbar explained.
Painters work on an hourly basis and make between $8 and $10 per hour depending on the complexity of the job. Someone in this category can make about $3,000 to $5,000 during the summer the number of hours they work. They also receive a bonus for working throughout the season.
Next there are the marketing and production representatives (MPRs). "They will make between $8,000 and $10,000 per summer," Flick said. His position is commission based.
The top level is the district manager who can earn as high as $15,000 during a season. "These people actually help recruit and train others during the pre-season so they are employed longer," Flick explained.
"It's a company run by students," Abdeljabbar emphasized. "I applied for this job last November. I not only go out and prepare estimates and sign up customers, I also recruit painters who work directly under me. I wanted to work commission to learn the demands."
Presently, he has eight painters working primarily in Alexandria. Two of those are Brian Shearer of Old Town, a 2003 graduate of Bishop Ireton High School who will be attending Connecticut College this fall, and Fletcher Wilson, a graduate of St. Stephen's and St Agnes School. He just completed his freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in mechanical engineering and bio-molecular engineering.
"I love it so far," Shearer said. "You're responsible for your own work and I'm definitely making good money." Even with one of the wettest springs on record, Shearer can look on the bright side. "We got one outside job done. Then we got lucky and landed a large inside job," he said.
Wilson, who lives in the Rosemont section of Alexandria, admitted, "At first I was afraid we wouldn't have enough work because of all the rain. But, that has really changed. We've been working five days a week, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m."
IN ADDITION TO their painting, each painter is expected to put in at least two hours a week, usually on Saturdays, going door-to-door selling the service. Painters get a bonus for doing cold calling in addition to their hourly wage. Each referral earns them $10 and another $10 if the customer signs up.
"One of the main reasons I took this job was to get practical business experience. You get to deal with all aspects of the business world, customer relations, employees, sales, payroll, and management strategies," said Abdeljabbar, who lives in Alexandria's Seminary Valley.
That appraisal was echoed by his district manager, Jason Caylor, a junior at the University of Maryland. "This is my second year with the company and, being a finance and marketing major, it has taught me a lot of the practical aspects of business," he said.
"Last year I was an MPR like Mike is this year. Now I have seven MPR's working for me. I'm on the road constantly since they are spread out from Alexandria to Centreville in Virginia and from Rockville to Bel Air in Maryland," Caylor said.
A graduate of Wootton High School in Potomac, Md, Caylor is used to traveling since, as he described himself, "I'm an Army brat. I traveled throughout my life with my parents. But, this job has enabled me to be on my own.
"Because of this, and a scholarship, I'm paying my own way, not only my tuition but also most all my own living expenses. I live at the university because I want to be independent and responsible for myself."
CAYLOR ADMITTED that at the district manager level "the job is pretty much year round. While at school I'm recruiting, putting up flyers, and holding marketing sessions. But, it gives you excellent experience to run your own business and that's what I want to do."
Tuition Painters' prices includes all materials, including the paint, as well as labor. "We have a supplier relationship with Sherwin Williams. In fact we are their largest customer on the east coast," Flick verified. "We back our managers' accounts. This eliminates any out-of-pocket expense for them."
Sherwin Williams also provides all the training aspects to the painters. "It covers everything from practical instruction to theory, types of paint to be used on various surfaces, and color mixing," Flick explained.
Presently, Abdeljabbar and his Alexandria crew have approximately a dozen jobs under contract, underway, or already completed. All work is guaranteed for two years, he assured.
Even with the monsoons of spring 2003, the Tuition Painters are not among those lamenting the flat lining summer job market. In fact, their market is about to expand into New England.