According to HVAC Excellence, 65.6 percent of service technicians in the HVACR industry will not be in the industry in eight years. The next generation is now in the classroom learning skills to match the demands of the market, and there is a growing sense of the need to recruit those who will serve as the technicians of the future.

Should a state-endorsed apprenticeship council be allowed to limit the number of training programs, and their locations, within a certain state? Is this power unconstitutional? That question will soon come before a judge in the state of California.

Numerous associations, institutions, and organizations offer accreditation and certification across the many sectors of the HVACR industry. For technicians, certification classifies a worker as a top performer. The same holds true for accredited HVACR associations, schools, and training programs.

At its recent meeting, the board of directors of North American Technician Excellence (NATE) renewed the organization’s contract with Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) to provide in-house services. The board also formed a committee to conduct a search for a new president.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) will soon award 22 schools with HVACR grants totaling $100,000.

In mid-March, HVACR instructors from around the country gathered at the scenic Cheyenne Mountain Resort for the 17th annual HVACR & Mechanical Workshop for Education Professionals. What was so historic about this event? 

Often we find ourselves so caught up in the day-to-day activities in which we are putting out fires that we are unable to step back and try to figure out how to prevent the fires in the first place. There is one method that I have found that can really help to make you take the time to look at why there are fires and emergencies in your organization.

It is great to enter the industry as a refrigeration service technician (or any HVACR tech for that matter) with a good amount of education attained through high school, community college, vocational school, or even a four-year program. But is that enough?

A number of high-level policymakers, business representatives including some HVACR manufacturers, and nongovernmental organization leaders recently converged in Orlando for the 2012 Energy Efficiency (EE) Global Forum.