The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 86,600 HVAC technician jobs will become available through 2018. The industry is projected to grow at a rate of 34 percent over the next 10 years. But, the question remains, what are employers looking for and do the applicants have it?

Summer is here and school is out, but that doesn’t mean the education of HVACR technicians has ended. In fact, their education has likely been going on all year and will continue throughout the summer as professionals educate rookies to veterans about the basics and advanced principles of HVACR.

HVAC contractors and manufacturers recently gathered with builders, remodelers, public utility representatives, government officials, and more to discuss home performance at Affordable Comfort Inc.’s (ACI) National Home Performance Conference.

At the third Clean Energy Ministerial, an international forum held in London in late April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a plan aimed at attracting more women to clean energy careers and supporting their advancement into leadership positions.

With the business growing, so would the demands on my time unless there was a fundamental shift. I eventually came to understand that the shift would come when my business partner and I learned to stop being revenue producers and become producers of leaders within our company.

The National Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals (OESP) held its 59th annual convention and trade show, May 20-24, in Providence, R.I. The event celebrated technology with the theme “Energy — It’s a New Frontier … Get Connected!”

Nearly 250 manufacturers’ representatives, architects, and engineers participated in this year’s ClimateMaster national sales meeting, held recently at the Sheraton Oklahoma City Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. 

HVAC Mechanical Systems (#210) presented by Johnson Controls Training Institute.

A number of the industry’s certification and accrediting organizations are busy crafting training programs that will define the industry’s next generation. Many are quick to acknowledge that technology is, and will continue to be, the leading factor guiding present and future development.

According to HVAC Excellence, 65.6 percent of service technicians in the HVACR industry will not be in the industry in eight years. The next generation is now in the classroom learning skills to match the demands of the market, and there is a growing sense of the need to recruit those who will serve as the technicians of the future.