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I was going through some old files and tech manuals my father had given me. He was always passing those things down to me, and every once and a while I used one of them to bail me out of some old, outdated piece of equipment that everyone seems to have forgotten about.

So, there I was, late in the evening, looking for one of those manuals, and I find a magazine clipping with my father’s picture on it. So, being curious, I unfolded it and discovered it was an article he had submitted to this magazine many years ago, published in March 20, 2006. As I read it, I found he was speaking to the next generation of techs. I was mentioned, though I was only 21 at the time. I was quite surprised to learn my father had apparently been grooming me to join the mechanical and HVAC industry since I was 12.

Matthew Mashburn’s father, Jeff, had been grooming him to join the mechanical and HVAC industry since he was 12. (Courtesy of DMS)

My dad is set to retire this year and is planning on enjoying the little things in life, like spending time with his grandchildren. Upon my return from an enlistment abroad, I needed a new career and joined the mechanical contracting and HVAC field. Shortly after, at the age of 26, I decided I wanted to start my own company. I set out to obtain my license; started Dynamic Mechanical Solutions (DMS); continued to further my service fields; earned my journeyman plumber, fire extinguisher, and fire sprinkler licenses; and am working on obtaining my electrician license. I own and operate a commercial services company in Dallas with about 15 employees. In my free time, I sought a patent and wrote a book that should be available this spring.

If it were not for the good Lord or my father believing in me, training me, and taking the time to feed my young curiosity, then none of this would have worked out. He took the time to teach me what this industry has to offer and what working for a living can do for you. With that being said, I encourage every father out there to work with their children, support them, teach them, and be there for them. It wasn’t always easy for either of us. I had to be sternly redirected at times to keep walking the line. Looking back, I wish my dad would have been harder on me and shown me more than what I was already blessed to see and experience. Age should not hold parents back from sparking a child’s interest and start preparing them for this industry or helping them work toward a career path.

There is one important note when I think back to my childhood, my dad — though tried, dirty at times, and physically worn out — always showed nothing but excitement and a genuine sense of joy for what he did. Children will never want to get into an industry they believe their parents dislike and do not enjoy. The saying is, “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”

Your children will not only sense it but see it as well. That was a very positive experience for me. Constantly wanting to learn and have a true thirst for knowledge, a sense of accomplishment for taking something broken and mending it to perform as it once did or better is what should be shown to our children.

I have one more point to make, and this is something I deal with daily: The future of techs and tradesman are falling short. No one is standing up in school or college and saying they want to be a tech or a plumber. The sense that everyone must go to college to make it in this world does not apply to everyone. I did not go to college, as high school was enough for me. But that is only half the story. The culture and family value has been broken and continues to decline from where I am standing. I have techs that fall into three age groups, those over 55, the 30-40 group, and those under 24. The younger group shares a common family dynamic. The days of fathers training and being there for their children is shrinking. Generally speaking, the young men of today are lacking a thirst for knowledge. We have seen this as leaders, managers, and owners. We now have to offer more training and one-on-one guidance to create the next generation of techs or tradesmen. While not everyone will make the cut, those who persevere find a home here and a sense of self-worth.

This industry is changing quickly, and it will continue to do so. For those of us in the industry, it’s up to us to solve these issues. One-on-one training might not be as cost-effective as we’d like, but, nonetheless, we must be open-minded about new ideas. The days where techs took manuals home, laid them out across the kitchen table, and studied them as they ate dinner are likely a thing of the past.

There is much to learn in this field. Show your team and your new guys everything, as much as you can, but allow them to make up their own minds about what their most interested in. This field is vast and has many specialties to it. Run with it and see where it takes you. It often takes a tech to make a tech. Then it will be up to us to adopt new ideals and change the narrative. Opportunity is the first step to success, whether that be for your employees or your company. This industry will continue to change, but the proficiency of the next generation of techs up to us: the managers, techs, leaders, and trainers. Teach your team and encourage them to share knowledge, skills, and lessons learned. Though this industry is challenging, I welcome those challenges and the fact that my father took the time to teach me and help develop the skills I would need to reach my goals. I will always be forever grateful for that. As a second-generation tech, I will do everything I can to encourage the next generation and my own family someday to ready them, as those before me have done.