A well-educated HVAC technician can mean the difference between a cascade of satisfied customers or a torrent of unhappy ones. A technician who can successfully install or troubleshoot equipment on the first try, quickly and effectively, gives a radically different experience to a customer than if the customer has to call the company a second or third time. Education is a critical step to the competent workforce of the future. And education, like the rest of the HVAC industry, will have both exciting opportunities to take advantage of and challenges to overcome in the upcoming year.