BALTIMORE — According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 50 percent of today’s contractors will retire over the next 10 years. At the same time, HVACR systems are becoming more sophisticated, and regulations and standards are dictating rapid change in technology, including the IoT.

Danfoss is investing to help the industry address this workforce gap and prepare to meet the challenges that lie ahead—from the next generation of refrigerants and new efficiency standards to the needs of incoming and future contractors. 

Launched in 2015, Danfoss has formed regional and national Contractor Councils to engage with contractors and to learn directly how to best serve their needs.

These ‘voice of the customer’ councils have validated the investment Danfoss is making in several key areas: 

1. Training. This includes in-person training seminars and free, online e-learning options that provide access to information about products, applications, refrigerants and more at a time and in a format that is most convenient for the contractor. Over the past year, Danfoss put 10 new sales trainers in the field to increase the amount of training it can offer at local levels, with plans to increase over the next year. 

2. Outreach to technical schools. Danfoss is committed to the next generation of contractors and believes this includes providing them with relevant information about existing and emerging technologies that will help them advance in the field. 

3. Digital and mobile platforms. To meet the expectations of the millennial workforce and the demands that come with an ever-increasing use of in-the-field technology, Danfoss is working to improve its e-business offering—putting more assets at contractors’ fingertips, wherever, whenever. 

4. Products tailored for contractors. As the workforce gap widens, we expect time constraints on contractors to intensify. Danfoss is focusing on tailoring its portfolio to meet this need, engineering products that are easy to use and install, and provide high levels of reliability so that call-backs and maintenance time are reduced.
Closing the workforce gap requires close industrywide collaboration, and Danfoss urges action to help elevate and prepare the industry for the future.