“Right now, we are somewhere around 65,000 technicians short of being fully staffed,” said Jose De La Portilla, senior manager of education and training, Rheem. “The average retirement age for technicians is around 65, but the average age of the industry is around 52-55. Knowing that, we are going to be hurting in five to 10 years.”

As the industry continues to gray and the demand for HVAC services continues to rise, recruiting, training, and retaining young talent is crucial to the trade’s future. Meeting this need begins inside trade school classrooms.

The Source of the Problem

Placing blame on the industry’s technician shortfall commonly shifts between a lack of interest, misguidance from counselors, the misnomer that blue-collar jobs aren’t as fruitful as white-collar jobs, etc.

Regardless of the source of the problem, recent research screams that help is on the way.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse, enrollment in construction-based trades courses increased 19.3% from 2021 to 2022. This is promising for the HVAC industry, considering enrollment in general two- and four-year college courses declined 7.8% and 3.4%, respectively.

Despite this rapid increase in attendance, the number of institutions teaching the trade remains stagnant. According to IBIS World, there are 7,407 trade and technical schools operating in the U.S. as of 2022. This number represents a modest increase of only 1.7% from 2021. To accommodate this growing interest in the trades, common sense insists this number will rise.

Can Curriculums Keep Up?

The HVAC industry is enduring an immense amount of change.

Recently issued government regulations are aiming to limit the use of fossil fuels in comfort systems; refrigerant phasedowns are forcing traditional gases to be replaced with low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, potentially prompting complete system overhauls; and much more.

These changes, and more, are disrupting the status-quo, requiring everyone involved to devote the time and energy necessary to deciphering and mastering new philosophies and approaches.

“The industry is changing at warp speed,” said William Ramsey, HVAC program director, Fortis College. “I kind of feel like I did back in high school, when I learned the computer program, BASIC. By the time I got a handle on that language, another one came out. I just couldn’t keep up. It’s the same way in the HVAC industry right now. We can't keep up with the changes. There’s no time to learn them, implement them, and teach them before the next change appears. It’s an endless cycle.”

Steven H. Kitchin, vice president for corporate education and training, at New England Institute of Technology (NEIT), a private, not-for-profit technical university in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, believes HVAC education is very much alive, relevant, and strong. However, going forward, educational institutions must actively and continuously work to stay up to date with the evolving skill demands of HVAC employers.

“It’s important for post-secondary institutions to reach out to members of the HVAC industry to ensure their HVAC programs are designed to prepare students to meet the demands of today’s employers,” he said. “Institutions that do not engage with the HVAC industry and do not continue to adjust their curricula, as required, will not survive in the eyes of the public or HVAC employers.”

NEIT delivers on this notion by calling upon the expertise of its technical advisory committee, which is comprised of industry leaders and employers, and constantly adapting its offerings. Recent innovations at the school include updated commercial refrigeration instruction, heat pump courses, and more.

Planning for the Future

Despite the hurdles that distort the path ahead, Eugene Silberstein, national programs director, HVAC Excellence, truly believes HVACR education is moving in the right direction.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of educators who are taking actions to help ensure they are better prepared to adequately prepare their students for success in an industry that is very different than it was just a few short years ago,” he said.

Anecdotal progress is shown through HVAC Excellence’s Educators Conference, which has grown in attendance from 330 attendees in 2007 to 1,030 in 2023.

To ensure students are taught the proper skills, Silberstein said institutions must continue to prioritize the growth of their instructors by encouraging them to never stop learning.

“Students cannot learn what they are not taught, and teachers cannot effectively teach what they don’t know,” he said. “How do these educators deal with this? They can simply do nothing, or they can take courses, attend training, and reach out to the industry-leading experts who have the information they need. The choice is theirs.”

Morten Rapp, program coordinator, gas, heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning technician programs at Georgian College, an applied arts and technology school in Ontario, Canada, that boasts 13,000 full-time students, deemed the current state of HVAC education as strong.

To further strengthen trade education, he believes the industry, collectively, should aim to increase awareness of HVAC at the high school level, provide more financial support for HVAC apprenticeships at the municipal and federal levels, and continue to push for widespread support in co-op programs.

“Co-op work placements provide a foundation for students aiming to further their HVAC industry training,” Rapp said. “They offer much-needed hands-on training beyond classroom learning.”

While the HVAC industry continues to change at breakneck speed, the instructors and institutions responsible for nurturing the industry’s next generation must continue to adapt their curriculums to ensure they are serving the industry’s future needs.

“HVACR training programs should continually compare their offerings to industry-accepted standards, tasks, and competencies to ensure that the training they offer is current and, more importantly, still relevant,” said Silberstein.

While change can be intimidating, it can catalyze success. Students who master next-generation skills are poised for prosperity, and the instructors who guide them are truly changing lives.

“When a student truly gets it — there’s nothing better,” said Ramsey. “Helping them gain the skills they need to take care of their families, and then watching them go out and make a difference in their communities — it’s priceless. That’s what continues to fuel my passion to teach; that’s what makes HVAC the best industry in the world.”