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Skaer-Tactics: Plenty of Questions, But Not Enough Answers

By Mark Skaer
September 1, 2008

Here are some Six Million Dollar questions, of which I do not have answers for:

• Do you want your son or daughter to work in the HVACR trade?

• The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics estimates there will be 22,000 job opportunities in the HVACR-related skilled trades that will go unfilled annually between 2008 and 2012. Why is this happening when this industry has so much to offer?

• In 2005, the skilled trades are only 2.5 percent female, essentially unchanged in 27 years. Why?

• Should CO detectors and smoke alarms be mandatory in every U.S. household? Like air bags in cars, aren’t these two devices aimed to save lives?

• Does global warming really exist?

• Will the Green Mechanical Council take off?

• Thirty percent of American high school incoming freshmen students drop out of the nation’s educational system and do not earn their diplomas. While thousands of talented Americans are lost in the system, the nation’s professional trades face an ever-spiraling shortage of skilled workers. Why?

• How can we get more young people to sign up for this trade?

• Abnormal ductwork leakage is fairly widespread across the United States. Why? How can that be?

Hey, there are plenty such questions - and I’ll drop some more in a couple of weeks. For now, though, I seek answers from readers. E-mail or post me a comment online accordingly. Let’s see what you think.

Share This Story

Mark Skaer Senior Editor. E-mail him at markskaer@achrnews.com.

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