We Need to Bring Jobs Back to America

“We need to bring jobs back to America”; “We must prevent immigration from stealing the jobs of the American people”. Nowadays it is common to hear statements like these in many arenas: Political, Economic, Industry, etc. So, when you analyze which jobs are needed to be brought back, you start to realize that the problem is most of those jobs held by the majority of the typical middle class American citizen in the past two decades are not glamorous anymore.

Interesting Facts: The jobs that built the “American dream,” that created the largest and best prepared middle class in the world, were those learned in vocational schools, Tech Colleges and Trade Schools. A vast percentage of solid middle class developed careers based on skills with specific education that were fundamental to the development of our industry, services and manufacturing jobs were essential to the development of the US Economy. New generations have transitioned to assume that the only way to maintain a good standard of living is through a four year Bachelor’s Degree.

In our industry everybody is concerned about the Baby Boomers exiting the workplace when they retire while not having enough young engineers graduating in the pipeline to replace those great professionals that gave shape and form to the HVAC industry over the past 50 years. I hear about many initiatives to promote engineering programs across the country; some sponsored by the big manufacturers who have strategies and programs for STEM students that start as early as middle school. But for some reason I don’t see the same enthusiasm to resolve the gap for Service Techs, Pipe Fitters, etc., that are not available today in the market place. All these jobs require a special education as well as special individuals with specific abilities that are fundamental to achieve the level of expertise and skills that will make them successful.

Now and Then

Back 20 years ago, a young HVAC technician was required to have a good understanding of mechanical and electrical systems, solid fundamentals of refrigeration, heat transfer and good handle of tools.

Today, an HVAC Tech needs to have all these mentioned skills, plus Computer systems knowledge, Electronics and Digital Technology, and Energy Conservation, among others. This new standard of proficiency imposes a call for action from our industry leaders to come up with a plan to make the HVAC Service Tech’s career an appealing path for young generations and their parents and teachers.