I had the pleasure recently of traveling down to San Antonio and attending the South Texas HVAC Expo put on by the local ACCA chapter. In addition to meeting some great HVAC contractors, I appeared on a panel discussion organized by Ruth King discussing the trends and issues affecting the HVAC industry.

One of the big issues that I have heard about since I started with The NEWS a few years back is the lack of quality individuals out there to fill all the positions in this industry. I have read way too many studies, seen too many statistics, etc., about the topic to relay them all here. Not only that, but anecdotally I have been involved in many conversations on the topic.

But fellow panelist Lee Rosenberg of Rosenberg Indoor Comfort in San Antonio had a fresh view on the topic. He explained to the group that he did not think there was a lack of qualified people to serve as technicians in the industry; instead, he explained that there was a lack of quality companies to hire those folks.

In addition to other examples, Rosenberg talked about contractors who do not watch their financials properly and inevitably have to lay individuals off (or severely cut back on hours) when the busy season has ended. He said this leads those qualified individuals to find another career that is more stable.

I thought this was an interesting perspective on the labor shortage issue. Any thoughts?