Getting the right people on the team has always been essential for any company, in any industry, and HVAC is no exception. Why, then, has the issue become more pressing in HVAC in the past decade? To understand the situation (and understanding is essential before any workable solutions can be generated), it is useful to view the issue in context.
We’ll start with field labor, which is both the hardest to do without and the easiest to improve. Young adults graduating high school and contemplating their future career options are oftentimes simply unaware of HVAC as an option. While this is true for both field and office professionals, it is a far more pressing issue for field workers. This is likely because they tend to make their choices earlier. Of course, that is not always the case, as we see a surprising number of apprentices now who are shifting careers to HVAC between the ages of 25-35, and sometimes older. At this point they are more settled than the younger age group and most have decided they like the better income and personal job satisfaction that comes with building and maintaining buildings.