As a way to supply back to the community, and possibly help out some at-risk youth, I have started to offer ride-alongs for our heating and air conditioning service jobs! If there is a kid in a local high university that expresses interest in learning a trade, the guidance counselor will contact me and set up a day for the kid to hang out with me and see what I do, there are a lot of great kids in university who are simply not school material, but they still have a lot of career options.
For the last 20 years the heating and air conditioning industry has been growing, and we need new techs just as badly as ever before.
Without spending tens of thousands of dollars on a university education, a young person can become heating and air conditioning certified and make a great living for the rest of their life. I was lucky enough to have an uncle who was a heating and air conditioning tech, and he was the one who steered me into this industry. I like the plan of paying it forward, and showing these kids that they can make great money as a heating and air conditioning tech even without having the best grades. Typically how it goes is that I will come by the office of the university on our way to work and pick up the interested student. They shadow me through all of our heating and air conditioning service appointments for the day, for an “up close and personal” view of the work. At the end of the day I give them our heating and air conditioning company card and tell them to call me if they want to get started.