High Expectations For ‘Instructor Of The Year’ Contest
To put it plainly, our past winners have simply been the best.
So, how can we possibly find more instructors on par with our previous winners? Well, The News has made a few changes to our contest, which we believe will help ensure that our third year conducting the contest will be the best yet.
TEAMING UP WITH ARI
It’s such an obvious idea, it’s surprising we had not thought of it earlier. Leslie Sandler, director of education for the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), approached The News when we were wrapping up our contest last year.If you are an instructor in this industry, you should be familiar with Sandler. In fact, everyone should be familiar with ARI and the work it does to promote training and educational standards.
ARI is responsible for launching the Industry Competency Exam (ICE), which measures the aptitude of entry-level technicians. ICE has been approved and is supported by several industry organizations and associations, whose members believe that when a student passes this exam, s/he has the knowledge and skills the industry requires.
ARI is also responsible for the Partnership for Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA). This program is also industry approved and sets standards for hvacr educational programs. Students can be guaranteed that the hvacr program they are attending is top notch if it is PAHRA accredited.
These are only a few of ARI’s contributions to industry education and training. The organization also runs www.coolcareers.org, a website designed to introduce the hvacr industry to young people. ARI will also be hosting its sixth annual Instructor Workshop March 14-15 in Arlington, VA. The workshop presents seminars and sessions to better the instructor and his or her program. It is free to industry instructors.
With all of these achievements in mind, ARI emerged as the ideal choice to helping us promote our contest and help determine the winners. Things are already looking very exciting.
WHY ONLY STUDENTS?
In the past, only students could nominate an instructor for our contest. The News wanted to hear from current students about the impact their instructors had on their lives and upcoming careers.We still want to hear from current students. In fact, we want to hear from as many as possible. But we also want to hear from many others in the industry. Instructors impact the whole industry, and there is no better way to recognize that than to open the nomination process to other individuals.
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We want to hear from contractors who believe they have better-qualified technicians because of an instructor’s expertise. We also want to hear from former students who look back at their days in the classroom and are thankful for the time an instructor spent with them. We also think it would be great to hear from parents of students who can vouch that an instructor’s efforts put their child on the right track.
LET’S HEAR FROM YOU
If you have seen the effect an instructor has had on his or her students and the industry, please fill out the nomination form on page 26 and send it our way. Nomination forms can also be filled out at our website, www.achrnews.com.Just remember that you only have two months. Nominations must be postmarked by May 10, 2002. Winners will be announced this September.
Siegel is training & education editor. He can be reached at 248-244-1731; 248-362-0317 (fax); jamessiegel@achrnews.com (e-mail).
Publication date: 03/11/2002
