Unico Joins Campaign to Promote Skilled Trades to Young People
Scholarships for students pursuing careers as HVAC specialists
ST. LOUIS — Unico Inc., a maker of small-duct heating and air conditioning systems, has signed on as a major sponsor of a nationwide initiative to encourage young people to join skilled trades. The program, Generation Next, will help raise money from companies and trade associations serving the home construction and renovation industry to support scholarships for students pursuing careers as HVAC specialists and plumbers, carpenters, electricians, roofers, and masons.
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation will receive all funds raised by the Generation Next campaign. Mike Rowe started the foundation to help close the skills gap caused by the aging of the current workforce and a shrinking pool of new people entering the trades. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 3.1 million unfilled skilled labor jobs today with an additional 2.5 million expected by the end of 2017.