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Southwest HVAC News

Over 500 Pack HVAC Excellence Educators Conference

Vocational technical training programs have suffered deep cuts in federal, state and local funding. However, this did not stop over 500 dedicated professionals from attending HVAC Excellence’s Educators & Trainers Conference at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Facing tremendous funding cuts for their programs, many of the attendees paid their own way to attend the conference. They did so knowing that a program is only as good as the instructor in front of the classroom. This is a testament to the dedication of the educators we have in the HVACR industry and their commitment towards making their students succeed.

The train-the-trainer boot camp provided attendees nearly forty sessions and nearly 80 exhibits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) a division of the United States Department of Labor provides economic projections for over 700 occupations and 300 industries. During the HVAC Excellence Conference, Mr. Richard Holden - Regional Commissioner for the BLS provided attendees with the National Employment Outlook to the year 2020.

Mr. Holden discussed how the HVACR industry will grow by 33.7% by 2020 while the growth for all occupations in the United States is only expected to grow by 14.3%. The HVACR industry will grow by nearly twenty percent more than all other occupations in the United States. In addition, the BLS projects that 31.2% of HVACR service personnel will retire and need to be replaced by 2020.

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In summary by the year 2020, 65.6% of service persons in the HVACR industry will be people that are not in the industry today. Being that HVACR service and installation jobs cannot be outsourced or automated, it means the HVACR industry offers tremendous job opportunities for persons not yet entering the workforce. This is great information to share with your local high school guidance councilors!

Simple math tells us that the HVACR industry cannot recruit and train the number of people needed by recruiting men alone. Ms. Patti Ellingson, President of Women in HVACR (WHVACR) provided a solution by addressing the importance of all of us working to recruit females into our industry. While women are half of the U.S. population, they consist of 0.7% of our industry. WHVACR is an organization of men and women that empower women to succeed through networking opportunities, mentoring programs and education. Learn more at www.womeninhvac.org Mr. Steven H. Allen (LEED AP) Executive Director of the Green Mechanical Council (www.greenmech. org) discussed the elements necessary for training technicians in sustainable technologies. He addressed the need to change the baseline knowledge of the persons entering our industry to understand concepts and terminology related to sustainable HVACR, sustainable mechanical systems, electrical, energy efficiency concepts, energy management and alternative energy systems.

Building upon the BLS statements, Mr. Allen discussed that the retirement of our industry affects not only our technicians, but also effects the educators that train them. His presentation went on to discuss the importance of looking at the educator training and certifi cation process. It needs to be inclusive of sustainable technologies and cross match the needs of the students and careers that await them.

Many of the attendees hold technician certifications from: HVAC Excellence, TABB, UA Star, RSES, NATE, BPI and others. However, as educators they want to pursue the prestigious title of Certifi ed Master HVACR Educator (CMHE). Educators should have a better understanding of the technologies and the theory that supports them. During the conference over 250 educator credentialing exams were administered and thirteen new Certified Master HVACR Educators were recognized. The breakout sessions covered a large number of technical topics and teaching techniques conducted by experts representing: Honeywell, Fujitsu, White Rogers, Carrier, Arkema, and Daiken to name a few.

Bill Whitman, Bill Johnson, John Tomczyk and Eugene Silberstein - the four authors of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (by Delmar Cengage Learning) took time to sign copies of their newly released 7th edition. The four authors having not appeared together for a decade were treated like rock stars as attendees lined up forty deep to get an autographed copy and meet the authors. Teaching people and keeping their attention is a very diffi cult business. Sometimes an educator has to fi nd unique ways to connect with their audience. David Boyd, Vice President of Appion Inc. connected to attendees by singing a song to them about the importance of proper evacuation https://youtube/QmMMiZYks4M

The full conference program and photos are available at https://www.hvacexcellence.org by clicking on the conference button. The 2013 HVAC Excellence Educators Conference will be held March 17-19, 2013 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. For additional information visit www.hvac excellence. org

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