Beginner Apprentice — Hardwood Floors

Old to Gold refinishes, installs and restores hardwood floors across West Michigan. The Beginner Apprentice is where the trade starts: you learn it on live jobs, working every job alongside a Master Craftsman. You are paid while you train, you ride to the job in the company van, and the crew rolls out at 7:00 AM.

What you'll do

• Prep every job: move furniture and appliances, pull shoe moulding and vents, mask, and set up dust containment.
• Load, clean and stock the van each day, and keep the shop and the machines in order.
• Run sanding, screening and buffing passes under the Lead's direction, then take on stain, sealer and finish coats as each skill is signed off.
• Help with installations: material handling, staging, and learning to cut, fit and fasten boards.
• Clean properly between every step. Nothing gets set down in a customer's home except on the floor being worked or a drop cloth.
• Learn Old to Gold's Customer Experience Process on every job, and take anything out of scope straight to your Lead.
• Work the training path: the Bona machine chapters, Pallmann finish training, the Norton and Lägler manuals and NWFA University courses.

What we expect

• You show up on time, every day, ready to roll at 7:00 AM.
• You wear the required protection: an N95 or better for wood dust on every sanding job, a cartridge respirator whenever oil-based product is open, plus hearing and eye protection.
• You follow the safety rules for rags and dust every time: stain and oil rags go in a water-filled bag, and dust bags are emptied and taken off site daily.
• You report any injury or accident right away, however minor.
• When you are not sure, you stop and ask. A question costs a minute; a guess costs a re-sand.
• You treat every home as somebody's house. Everything the customer sees you do is part of what they are paying for.

Where this goes The next rung is Advanced Apprentice. You move up when you can organize and manage the tools and equipment, stage materials efficiently, understand the job's workflow on your own, and do the basic skills with only some guidance. After the first three months there is no time limit — you move up when you can do the work.