How to Combat the HVAC Technician Shortage
If you have been in the HVAC industry for any time at all, you are aware of the massive technician shortage. If you have been in it for decades like many experts have, you are aware this shortage is nothing new. Waiting for this problem to solve itself has not worked in the past and will still not be effective today.
Conventional job search methods, whether newspaper ads or online job postings, are not nearly as effective as they once were in a technical industry. In recent years, more modern methods such as training schools have shown much more promise in creating skilled, dedicated workers. Let’s take a look at what the facts show.
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Unreliable Recruitment Methods
Most contractors have tried everything to find technicians, from the newspaper ads of a few years ago to the online job postings of today. The result is usually the same. Either these calls for workers get no responses or attract poor workers who can’t perform. Since good technicians usually don’t have any problem finding a job, they spend far less time searching and thus rarely see these postings. This leaves a contractor in a bad place when trying to grow a business or just keep it running through normal attrition.
At times, a desperate contractor will poach technicians from another business with the promise of additional pay. For instance, some HVAC technicians will find business cards on their service trucks that say, in a nutshell, “I will pay you more than you currently make–call me!” While this method is common, this just breeds service techs that jump companies for additional pay rather than the overall value of that company. If this is your business’s chosen method, don’t expect loyalty from a tech that jumped just for a few dollars. There is a better way.
Get More HVAC Technicians Quickly
Training your own employees is the solution. Who do you know that could be a great technician if they only had proper training? Find a training school that really does teach what is needed. This fast, efficient method of education can give you a quick return on your investment.
Pro Tip: Find a training facility that can balance time commitments with excellent results. HVAC skills may not need years to teach, but can’t be learned overnight either.
Questions to Ask a Potential Training Center
Finding the right tech school requires asking just a few questions until you find one that checks all your boxes.
Questions should include:
- How much of the class is hands-on?
- How many hours will they practice Brazing?
- Will they get to actually build up complete systems?
- How many different refrigerants will they get to recover and charge?
- Is there a hands-on final exam covering the entire learning experience?
- Will they get to remove motors, blowers, fans, and blades from working systems?
- Will they get to do lots of performance testing with superheat and subcooling methods?
- Will they learn how to use a ductulator?
- Was the program taken from a book or custom made based on years of experience?
- Finally, what is the cost and how long does it take to complete?
Be Part of the Solution
If you come to the realization that getting trained technicians will never happen if you do not become part of the solution you will never see a solution to your technician shortage. Invest in your company’s future by investing in training your own hires and you will never have a technician shortage.
Connect with us to learn more about the classes we offer and our students’ ultimate success rates in the HVAC field.