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Jessica Bannister — maybe better known to some by her social media handle, @hvacjess — comes from a refrigeration family, but that wasn’t enough for her to ever think she could consider a career in HVAC.

“I truly believe it's because I've never seen an example of a person that looked like me, a lady, doing what my dad did,” Bannister said. “It didn't even occur to me that I could give it a go.”

Neil Campbell, Bannister’s father, was an apprentice for her grandfather back in the 1970s, and her younger brother, Trevor Campbell, has worked since 2007 as a certified HVAC technician for the company started by their father in the early 2000s: Cam Cool Refrigeration Inc., a commercial and industrial refrigeration and air conditioning company in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Bannister went the traditional college route and landed an office job, but found herself unfulfilled. Shortly after, Bannister got laid off, so she started working with her dad at Cam Cool.

“I was working in the Cam Cool office for about nine months,” she related, “until one day I said to my dad, ‘You guys come back to the office every day with these tales of your adventures, these places that you've been to, and people you've met, problems you've solved, and I'm sitting here behind a desk. What's going on?’”

Bannister wanted a taste of that, so she started going on ride-alongs with her dad to learn more about what his day entailed, and to get in front of the equipment herself.

“I found that I enjoyed being out there so much more than being in the office that I started to squirrel away my bookkeeping, doing it on evenings and weekends. which I still do,” Bannister said.

Bannister found herself in the field way more often than not, and so she figured why not get fully qualified like her brother, so there would two technicians to take over the family business. And that’s what she did; in March of 2018, she registered as an apprentice in Canada.

“In Canada, apprenticeships are very rigid and regulated,” Bannister said. “I have to do four years of technical training, which is like four levels over four years, and I have to complete over 7,200 hours in the field before I can take my exam and become fully qualified.”

Today, Bannister is about 75% of the way through with over 6,000 hours. In January of 2024, she’ll be a Level 4 HVAC apprentice.

“I love HVAC more than I ever thought I would,” said Bannister. “I had no idea how much I would enjoy being out in the field, working with my hands being physical, solving the problems — and the more I experience HVAC, the more fascinating it is to me; it's so incredibly interesting.”

Her only regret? Not considering the field earlier. Which is why she does so much with social media: to let women like herself know there’s this incredible career opportunity available to them.

“To be seen both by girls choosing their careers, and women considering a second career,” Bannister explained. “These options are out there for them and they're interesting and challenging and lucrative.”

Social Media Success

Bannister doesn’t want the impact of her social media to stop there. She also wants both boys and men to get familiar with seeing a woman’s face on the jobsite. And so far, it’s working. Bannister has been very well received on social media, with over 7,000 Instagram followers tuning in to see her posts from the HVAC field.

“I've had so many cool opportunities,” Bannister said. “The community that we've built on social media is phenomenal, and I am just having such a great time doing what I'm doing.”

One opportunity Bannister has had is brand ambassadorships with companies like Jobber, Nu-Calgon, OLFA, and The Dirty Seahorse, the latter of which is work wear built by women for women. In fact, before becoming a brand ambassador for the company, The Dirty Seahorse reached out to Bannister with an intricate, detailed survey about what exactly Bannister was looking for in women’s work wear, took that information, and put it into their products.

Bannister also cited being invited to industry events as an accomplishment she’s been able to achieve because of her social media.

“I feel like a celebrity because they treat me so well, and everyone is so excited to meet me and take selfies,” she said.

Bannister first realized her “celebrity status” in the industry when she was invited to a Canadian Mechanical & Plumbing Exposition (CMPX) event.

“I remember walking through the hotel lobby and several strangers coming up to me … Hundreds and hundreds of people recognized me,” Bannister said. “Sometimes I'm just still fascinated by the direct messages (DMs) that I receive. Like people asking what’s my favorite screwdriver or what boots am I wearing — they want to know!”

Bannister aims for authentic content through her social media. The industry is not always sunshine and rainbows, she said. So authentic content goes a long way, especially because of social media user’s ability to spot inauthenticity.

Training

HVAC DIARIES: Bannister hopes that long-term her career evolves to educating young girls in the industry. (Courtesy of Cam Cool Refrigeration Inc.)

Though Bannister doesn’t currently do any formal training (she wants to wait until she’s fully certified), @hvacjess does have a YouTube channel: “The HVAC Diaries,” where Bannister uploads videos of what she learns, what it’s like being a woman in the trades, and things she finds interesting.

“That's where I'd like my career to evolve into is to be more educational and just helpful to specifically girls, and the reason I even started the [channel] was because when I was in technical school, I was having a little bit of trouble just grasping some concepts,” said Bannister. “So I would watch like several different YouTubes on the same topic, and just the way that one of them would say something would resonate with me.”

But what Bannister realized after watching all those videos is that every single video was made by a man.

“So I [decided] I can be the female face,” Bannister said. “If I'm looking for information about HVAC, I would love to see a woman. Personally, I feel much more comfortable speaking to a woman. … I feel like we approach things without judgment, and I want to be that presence for women and girls.”

VARIANCE: Bannister’s favorite part of the job is the variety she experiences day-to-day. (Courtesy of Cam Cool Refrigeration Inc.)

From 2021-2023, Bannister served as the president (and face) of Women of HVACR Canada. Her favorite part of the work she gets to do is the variety in her days.

“I get to do some really cool stuff and visit interesting places,” Bannister said. “The different places I get to go to, and the different equipment I get to work on, and the problems I get to solve — and they are real problems — and so when we arrive, sometimes the customers see angels there to save the day, and it’s just really cool.”

When Bannister looks ahead, she hopes her influence continues to do what it’s already doing today — get people to consider the trades.

“I get messages sometimes from people just randomly saying their daughter watched my video and now she's interested in the skilled trades, and that is what it's all about,” Bannister said. “Sometimes I have a little bit of impostor syndrome and feel like I'm posting so much all about me, me, me, me, but people are looking at it as well, and if they're showing their daughters, that's where it's at.”