The cooler trainers are the latest addition to the college’s HVACR lab, built entirely by students over the last few years as part of COD’s Central Plant Project, located at its Glen Ellyn, Illinois, campus.

On June 15, as part of a White House event, President Donald Trump signed the Apprenticeship & Workforce of Tomorrow executive order, which designates resources to go to vocational training programs and aims to remove restrictions that have prevented industries, including HVAC, from creating apprenticeships.

I realize there are more important items, like fighting ISIS, but I also know that presidential candidates have been willing to comment on Starbucks Christmas cups and fantasy football, so, perhaps, we could acknowledge the critical need for training that’s necessary for the next generation to take on these well-paying, in-demand jobs.

As I’m writing this, the Diane Rehm Show on National Public Radio (NPR) has just aired a segment called “Who Benefits from College and Why.” One major component was who should go to college and who should go into a trade.

There is usually extreme pressure on high school counselors to get a high percentage of graduating students into college. To tell a student not to go on to college would call for diplomacy. To help in the diplomacy effort, it is important that the vocational tracks offered are shown in a favorable light.

These remarks include a comment on Joanna Turpin’s article “Going Against the $29 Tune-Up,” from the April 2, 2012 issue, and a comment on how to motivate more young people to go into HVACR.