1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,600 Soften your senses, ways to become a better speaker, listener and follower. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:17,760 This episode recorded live at the 2023 National HVACR Education Conference. 3 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,600 Learn more at escogroup.org. 4 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,720 All right. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:23,240 Thank you all for joining us. 6 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:30,960 Man, what an honor to have an absolute powerhouse of industry motivators and shakers. 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,200 So let's just take a second and let's each introduce ourselves. 8 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,880 And that'll kind of set the perspective of where we are. 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:38,360 All right. 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:39,600 My name is Angie Snow. 11 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:45,560 I am with Western Heating and Air Conditioning out of Utah and also Service Titan. 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:46,720 My name is Colleen Kieworth. 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,760 I'm with Online Access, a marketing company for contractors, 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:56,840 and on the board of Women HVACR and INWIC International Network for Women in Cooling. 15 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:01,760 My name is Maddie Sorensen, and I am the project coordinator with Explore the Trades. 16 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,720 My name is Kate Sinimo, executive director of Explore the Trades. 17 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:07,000 All right. 18 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,480 So we have amazing opportunity in our industry at the moment, right? 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:18,520 So we are starting to witness a transition of, I would say, generations, right? 20 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:29,440 So we're moving into a time where our industry is becoming more accepting of people in general in our trade. 21 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:39,040 If we think about the trades over time, it was very limited in people's perspective of who should be in a particular trade, right? 22 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:46,080 Most of the time, it was looked at if that person looks like me, they're probably going to do a job like me and they may perform similar to me. 23 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:51,480 And that was kind of the limited perspective of not just our industry, but many industries. 24 00:01:51,480 --> 00:02:00,080 So as we progress in time and we start looking at the world a little bit differently and we start realizing that we we all play on a very equal platform. 25 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,920 And now we have the opportunity to show the world what these platforms look like. 26 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:15,720 All right. So along the way, our industry, my industry, your industry, the HVACR refrigeration industry has gotten to a point where it's starting to look more 27 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:24,520 interesting to people. So some of the stigmas are starting to shed and the realities of what the industry looks like is prevailing. 28 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:32,880 So if we think back in time, I know for my personal self, what did HVAC look like to you when you were a child? 29 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,920 Let's each give our own little perspective. So mine, I'll tell you what mine was. 30 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:41,520 Mine was a dirty old oil furnace in the back closet that got looked at when it got really, really nasty. 31 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:46,280 We had window air conditioners. So for me, it wasn't a pretty sight. 32 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,000 It wasn't the most desirable thing in the world. 33 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:54,560 Mine was my dad at an early age because I knew he worked in HVAC with the extent of my knowledge. 34 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:59,040 But he came home, he was always getting cut up from sheet metal on his head. 35 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,120 Always had the brown button up shirt and stuff like that and had the truck and everything. 36 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,920 And I didn't know much about that. But then at a younger age, we would sort copper. 37 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:12,640 My grandpa would pull this in and we'd do scrap and copper and make like five, ten dollars a barrel, which I think we were cheated. 38 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:16,640 Yeah. You pulled insulation. 39 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,480 And did little things like that. So I didn't really have a concept of what it was. 40 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,480 But I knew it was physical, it was mechanical. 41 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:27,160 And going to the shop was a big deal or going to the shop picnic and stuff like that with the crew. 42 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:35,200 But other than that, it was very like, you know, OK, it was just like its own little box of like, I didn't really thought you're curious about it. 43 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,680 Yeah, it was there. It was there. 44 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,680 But I probably could say, OK, my dad works in HVAC or a lot of kids didn't even know what that was. 45 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,000 And I don't even think I could say other than it's heating and cooling. Right. 46 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,480 So it's something. It's something. 47 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:54,600 And it wasn't so much later when I started working for the company as like doing paperwork or dispatch or stuff like that, that I kind of understood what it was. 48 00:03:54,600 --> 00:04:04,880 And then I was like, no, sir, I want out of this and very promptly was fired for being a punk kid and did my own thing. 49 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,160 And then came back years later and got into it. 50 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,280 And then I was like, oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Well, what's actually out there? 51 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,200 Two things. So especially with kids. 52 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:17,240 And that depends on what you're getting into. Like, there's the local level of the industry, which is just the bubble you're into. 53 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,680 Yeah. And then there's the national level, which is so much bigger. 54 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:27,240 And I think people don't get exposed to that enough to see how big it really is and how important it is. 55 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,040 And I think that was where I just fell in love with it. 56 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,320 Like, I'm not going anywhere now. Like my husband's in it. 57 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,760 My whole family is pretty much inundated. Yeah. Yeah. 58 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,560 OK. Yeah. Next. 59 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:49,960 So the only thing I can remember from being a kid is we grew up on an acreage in the country and didn't have family in the industry. 60 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:55,560 We really didn't know anyone. You know, you have a guy in town who had the one truck. 61 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:01,400 But I remember in middle school when we got central air put in the house, that was a big deal. 62 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:06,600 You know, and that was sort of my introduction. Yeah. That's what it was. 63 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:12,440 Yeah. It's when you start having something that affects you on a personal level that you notice it. 64 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,800 Yes. Yeah. Excellent representation. Yeah. 65 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,200 Maddie. Yeah. I'll kind of say the same thing. 66 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:28,160 Yeah. I didn't have a huge, you know, like a huge understanding of, you know, like the HVAC or the HVAC industry as, you know, as a young kid. 67 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:34,480 You know, similar to Kate, you know, it's when you kind of have a personal experience with it that you kind of start to understand it. 68 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:43,320 So I remember going to, you know, going to camps as a young kid and, you know, when they didn't have air conditioning, you know, I was like, OK, I understand. 69 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,480 Boy, there is a difference here. 70 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:52,120 Why this is important, because, you know, it's a it's a summer camp in, you know, in the in the middle of July. 71 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,560 And I was like, I really miss my air conditioning at home. 72 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,480 Did we just regress a hundred years? What did what happened? 73 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,840 So that, you know, just just those really small experiences. 74 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:04,760 First world problems. Yes. Right. 75 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,080 You know, exactly, exactly. 76 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:19,040 You know, and kind of understanding, you know, the really big privilege that it is to have, you know, to have that in my in my home at, you know, you know, just back in Minnesota was just kind of my, you know, just my understanding of it. 77 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,560 Exactly. 78 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:26,920 Well, for me, it's a lot like Kate. We didn't have air conditioning growing up. 79 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:32,080 And so we had the furnace in the basement and the one guy in town, the fixed furnaces. 80 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,520 And that was really all I knew about it. 81 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:41,280 But I was really exposed to the trades through my dad, who was an educator in the trades. 82 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:44,040 Awesome. So he taught like high school. He taught welding. 83 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,520 He taught a lot of those different classes and eventually ended up in cabinetry. 84 00:06:48,520 --> 00:07:00,040 And so I, you know, I would take those cabinetry and carpentry classes from him and a lot of times be the only girl in the class with a bunch of boys making furniture. 85 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:12,200 And my dad being the dad, you know, he held me at a higher level of accountability and perfection in my, you know, when I was building my craftsmanship. 86 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,440 And so I really, really appreciated that. 87 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:22,720 And that was really my introduction to the trades and my introduction to the industry and working in it didn't come until much later through my husband. 88 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:24,520 So, yeah. 89 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:32,520 A lot of us have our first introductions almost by mistake or by happen or something changes where it affects us a little bit. 90 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:37,600 And then we might look at it. And that has been somewhat of a norm in our industry. 91 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:42,600 Like I myself, I married into an HVAC business. I wasn't on a plan. I just ended up there. 92 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:56,400 And then as I moved along, I started realizing that it was an impactful part of everything in my daily life, especially when we start looking at refrigeration, all fundamentals of air conditioning and heat pumps comes back to refrigeration. 93 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:02,600 And so when we start seeing the different avenues all coming from one industry, we look around and go. 94 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:09,120 OK, if this is everywhere, what else is there besides that dirty old furnace in the basement? 95 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:10,920 What else does this do? 96 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:16,280 And by the way, how does that person down the road live so well? 97 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,480 And they're just doing HVAC or they're just doing refrigeration. 98 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:27,960 And so when we start looking at the entire industry, we realize that the opportunities within HVAC and refrigeration are abundant. 99 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:35,760 And a lot of that doesn't get shown to young students, definitely doesn't get shown to parents like from my parents. 100 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,080 But my dad was a construction guy. 101 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,560 You know, we had a guy that fixed the oil furnace as a buddy of his. 102 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:44,800 And for my dad, it's like, you know, I work on them dirty old furnaces all your life. 103 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,520 So it wasn't never really promoted. 104 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:55,040 Wasn't until later that I learned that, you know, the application of things like that can change your life when you see where it can take you. 105 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,000 Now, will you maybe start working on some of them dirty old furnaces in the beginning? 106 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:06,920 You know, some of these things that may not be as attractive, but it leads into an industry that is somewhat overlooked. 107 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:15,280 So let's talk about from your own personal perspectives how the perception, because remember perception is reality, 108 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:26,600 how the perception of HVAC has changed and how now young ladies have the opportunity to look at it as a potential future 109 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:34,920 and an opportunity to explore their own passions for being involved in something bigger than themselves, 110 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:36,760 because that's really what happens when you get into the industry. 111 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:44,760 You realize, oh, my goodness, I am a part of something that is so significant that no one really told me a whole lot about. 112 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:52,280 I learn about things in environmental sciences, but I never realized that I could be an environmental scientist by being in this industry. 113 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,000 So let's I'm curious myself. 114 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:05,000 And I hope everyone really listens to this and gets an understanding of how we can change our own reality by understanding different perceptions. 115 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:15,000 I think the first thing that hits me when you're talking about that, Clifton, is, you know, like myself and Maddie and Angie growing up, 116 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,200 not with someone in the trade, but learning about it later on. 117 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:27,640 I think that when you understand from square one, this is what HVAC is, you know, and just think about it at your home. 118 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:33,240 You know, that's why we can stay warm. That's why there's, you know, we stay cool in the summer. 119 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,160 That's how and I think that's when the pieces start being put together. 120 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:42,440 Right. You know, yeah. And it's not just magic that that happens. 121 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,880 You know, there's a lot of training and education that comes with that. 122 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:53,800 And I think with that understanding, then you you start to put the pieces together to say, oh, well, so that's how my air quality at home. 123 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,720 Like if there's someone with allergies in the home, you know, then I think how can I change that? 124 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:07,840 Yeah, that's a bigger conversation. And now when you think of all of the all of the entities and buildings and industries that utilize that trade, 125 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:18,680 that's mind blowing. You know, hospitals and health care and the grocery store, you know, all of this is basis is based in HVAC. 126 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:23,560 And I think that's really exciting. Well, you kind of hit it on the head with that, though, too, as far as the buildings, 127 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:28,200 because we just recently as an as a world basically had the biggest disruptor ever. 128 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:35,880 Right. And so being being that we all went through a pandemic, it really brought light into what air quality is, how it works. 129 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:40,720 Hospitals that had to have change out six or seven times per room. And who actually designs that? 130 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:48,480 How does that happen? And so bring in that to the world front as far as IAQ as a general career or even the fact that it was so necessary 131 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,440 and how it works in planes, how it works in hospitals, how it works in your home. 132 00:11:52,440 --> 00:12:02,520 I mean, I feel like that was something that really disrupted everybody's train of thought and really brought a lot more visibility to the behind the scenes of what airflow quality is. 133 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,480 Absolutely. And I think I think, you know, we're all wired differently. 134 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,320 We all have different experiences that brought us into the industry. 135 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:17,280 I remember after my husband and I purchased our our heating and air conditioning company, I was at a family event. 136 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,040 I was talking to one of my cousins. He's like, now, what do you guys do again? 137 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,120 And I said, well, we just bought this heating and air conditioning company. 138 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,760 He's like, no way. He's like, that is like the coolest thing. 139 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,960 Like, you can create weather in your houses. 140 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,000 You guys are going to be like this essentially you will always have work. 141 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,680 And I was like, you know what? I never thought about that. 142 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:39,760 But yeah, that is pretty cool. That's job security. 143 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:50,000 You know what I mean? So it is it's it's it's looking at it with a new a new eye, a new light of what does this what do we do? 144 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:59,240 And how can we, you know, for lack of a better word, make it a glamorous industry again, that is drawing people into the industry and like, I want to be part of that. 145 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:04,240 Yeah, we want to move from crayons to watercolor for this industry. 146 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,920 That's what we want to do. We're lucrative. We're recession proof. 147 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,040 We're pandemic proof. There's so many cool things about it. 148 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:22,480 Like we talk about we idolize things like doctors and even talk about lawyers even or, you know, first responders or anything like that, because they're the what kids see. 149 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:30,240 That's what you. Yeah. But part of that problem and I know Kate deals with this every day is that educators, there's no there's no children's books. 150 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:38,080 There's no there's nothing in education, nothing in my education that I ever had where anybody ever said, hey, let's talk about just air quality, the air we breathe. 151 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:49,640 Because like even with all the environmental push that's going on right now, it's such an easy fit in to be able to change that conversation, even have it at a third or fourth grade level to talk about, hey, let's just discuss this. 152 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,560 Like this is the air we breathe. This is how we control the temperatures. It's hot outside. It's cold in here. 153 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:57,120 Like just at a basic level to say, what does this acronym stand for? 154 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,920 Exactly. Like even just that. Yeah. Just to be aware of it. 155 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:04,240 And I don't even say like you're converting people then there, but like be aware, be aware. 156 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:09,320 Just even know that as a commonplace term, just as long as you have a career day, you can say an HVAC guy. 157 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:16,720 We have people know about the garbage man like in their in their their industry, but nobody still talks about like HVAC or plumbing. 158 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,640 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 159 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:29,400 My mind is just, you know, continually blown as I'm, you know, as I learn more and more about, you know, the the three trades that we deal with that explore the trades, you know, HVAC, plumbing and electrical. 160 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:38,760 Just like as I learn more about all three of these trades, it's just my it's just incredible, you know, all that goes into, you know, all three of these industries. 161 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:46,680 It's just it's it's incredible to me what all you know, what goes into, you know, these jobs every single day. 162 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:51,920 It's just it's it's absolutely incredible what what these people do and they they truly say lies. 163 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:57,400 It's it's just amazing. You know, a lot of people don't realize that during covid, 164 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:03,640 the Department of Homeland Security declared that those who installed service, 165 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:12,680 maintained furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps were declared essential as one of 17 primary categories out of total about 700 jobs. 166 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:27,080 That helped spark the the the curiosity of what how is a furnace and air conditioning technician in a similar position as immediate response? 167 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,960 And then we started looking at exactly I've heard IAQ quite a few times, you know, 168 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:38,440 our industry is starting to look more into IAQ and the deployment of air quality and understanding that home, that environment that we live in. 169 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:47,000 And now the ability to alter to change that, you know, if if you're in an environment that is not comfortable, 170 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,080 you want to learn how to make that more comfortable. 171 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:50,960 And by the way, do you want to make a career out of it? 172 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:55,360 And are you interested in making six figures while you're doing that and maybe not have college debt? 173 00:15:55,360 --> 00:16:01,720 There are so many opportunities to look at something from a different perspective and go, you know what? 174 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:06,960 That is not at all the reality of the perception that I have had in the past. 175 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,920 Well, if you talk to the guys here, so like most of the guys here, especially the educators like that, 176 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,320 they are like obsessed with the craft that they have. 177 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,320 They may get like so sexy because this is it for them. 178 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,560 But if you talk to them about buildings and like homes in general, they're living, breathing things. 179 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:25,800 Absolutely. That you can control the environment and they love the fact that you can manipulate that 180 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:30,000 just by the tools, technology and the equipment that they know how to wield. 181 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:36,840 And that's a whole different type of conversation than like I turn the switch on and the room gets cool. 182 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:42,880 So it's the obsession with the craft itself and learning how it actually all comes together. 183 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:48,680 Yeah. And we're at it like an emergence of technology, like some like many other industries have had 184 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,040 that we've kind of fallen short of for a little bit of time. 185 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,000 We look at things like the automotive industry that took a big progression in technology, 186 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,360 didn't really change the internal combustion engine. 187 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,680 They just use technology to make things more efficient. Right. 188 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,200 We've seen it in all communication technologies. 189 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:11,640 Now we look at the HVAC industry and go, wow, we're able to look at something because it wasn't perceived 190 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:16,680 very positively because it was just kind of an old clunker, just something that did a thing. 191 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:22,440 And now we look at it as, OK, so technology is changing and it's bringing every level of STEM 192 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:28,640 into our industry. And yeah, we can look at a structure, we can look at a home and go, 193 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:35,240 we can turn this into a very comfortable living environment that is healthier for our family. 194 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,440 As much as anything, and the science and the education and the opportunities are there. 195 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:46,080 So I love it. You know, we even if we just talk about like the the pool of technicians 196 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:50,640 coming into the industry and we look at the shortage of technicians and we step back and we go, 197 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,320 why do we have a shortage? Why? 198 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:55,880 Why are we not filling these awesome opportunities? 199 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,120 And I think it's because of those perceptions. 200 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:03,360 So personally, how do you feel that changing? 201 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:12,280 Do you feel that is becoming more attractive to students and to parents, both for boys and girls in younger ages? 202 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:17,440 Do you see that as a change in recent years? 203 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:24,680 I think, you know, on behalf of Explore the Trades, it's been interesting that we've seen 204 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:29,560 a request of information and conversations we're having with teachers and school counselors 205 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,680 coming from the middle school and elementary grades. 206 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:40,400 And that's really exciting. And I think that they are now noticing, you know, I guess from 207 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,400 our perspective, and I think all of us would agree that over the last generation, 208 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:50,040 we haven't shared with kids the opportunity because all of the tech ed and vocational ed 209 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:55,880 has been pulled out of school. So we've taken out a whole generation of skilled labor. 210 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,960 Yeah. Who could be working because they just you don't know what you don't know. 211 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,200 No, they weren't introduced to it. Exactly. 212 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,480 And it's really cool to hear from these educators to say, you know what, 213 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,840 I know that I have students who would be perfect for this. 214 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:13,520 And now they're taking that step to educate themselves on just to have a high level 215 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,120 conversation of, OK, here's what heating and cooling is. 216 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:21,960 Yes. Here's how we apply the subjects that we're learning every day, you know, 217 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,040 so it is directly applicable and those students can understand it. 218 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:31,280 Yeah. And I think on the parent side, everyone's starting to turn the corner a little bit 219 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,600 because so many are worried that, well, you know, the trades are great, but not for my kid. 220 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,200 Yeah. You know, my child's going to go to college. Absolutely. 221 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,600 You want to succeed? You're going to go to a four year college and you're going to. 222 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,640 My favorite, the world needs ditch diggers. 223 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,440 Horrible. Yeah. 224 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,960 But we've been no place arrived necessarily anywhere. 225 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,440 But I bet this is take a step back in perception. 226 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,880 Where are all of us sitting here is where our parents were. 227 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,280 Where when we were growing up to where parents are today is completely different. 228 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,760 I think we need to celebrate that. Yeah, I do, too. 229 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,120 Because I think it took a breaking point of just the labor shortage alone. 230 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:11,240 And you're hearing about how people are upset about the cost of things and the wait time 231 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,000 and equipment shortages and whatever it was that disrupted our industry. 232 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,440 Then obviously it was a pain point to consumers. 233 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:18,880 And at that point, they're like, well, why? 234 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,160 Yeah, now let's look at it. Let's look at it. What's going on? 235 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,960 And so then you have, you know, big big organizations like, of course, 236 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,760 explore the trades with HVCR and HVAC excellence out there. 237 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,120 But then you also have Hollywood a little bit, too, being like, 238 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:33,600 like you got some like the MicroWorks Foundation and you got PBS even doing specials on it. 239 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:38,400 And stuff. And finally, it's like it's hitting the news channels where they're talking about labor shortages. 240 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:42,280 They're talking about how how lucrative trades are and how it's such a big deal and how. 241 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,720 And honestly, college is also becoming under scrutiny because there's such a low ROI. 242 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,240 Exactly. And it's now turning the corner. 243 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,640 And so have we arrived anywhere? No. But are we making progress? 244 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:57,160 Absolutely. And I would say, like even studies that we've done and worked with the E.G.F. 245 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:02,680 Foundation on have even shown an increase where parents are actually saying it was over 67 percent 246 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:06,800 on the on the survey that we had there that was saying like they would absolutely be more than proud 247 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,520 if if their child chose a trade. Yeah. 248 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,320 And it's turning a corner a bit where when I was growing up, that wasn't even presented. 249 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,920 And there was even growing up in a family, it wasn't even talked about. Right. 250 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,400 And there was stigma to it. It was like absolutely. 251 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,600 I knew growing up in school, people going to to tech every day, it was like, oh, those kids, you know, 252 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,960 like, like, oh, the ones that that don't get it academics. 253 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,160 But, you know, maybe on their last leg in their parole officers following them over there. 254 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:35,480 They're going to be changing my oil. So by making more money. 255 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:40,840 Yeah. Yeah. We noticed in my company specifically, when we were having a hard time 256 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,880 finding good people to hire people with experience, we went out to the schools ourselves. 257 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:51,040 We went to high schools. We took that initiative to let's go in and talk about opportunities. 258 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:57,080 And, you know, even though that's just a small step, it doesn't seem like it would make that big of an impact. 259 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:03,320 Just me and my local community doing that. It did. I was hiring, you know, what was so funny, 260 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:10,200 someone a girl that was in the class, she actually a couple of years later, she I saw her at one of our company parties. 261 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:15,960 I'm like, what are you? She's like, oh, yeah, I remember sitting in your class and I told my husband to apply. 262 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:21,160 I'm like, wow, that came from me visiting a high school a couple of years ago. 263 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,200 She's like, you just, you know, your company and what you were doing. 264 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:32,040 And now that I think the word is getting out and the stigma is shifting, that more and more people are coming. 265 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:39,240 And we don't we don't have the we don't see the struggles that we used to see as far as finding people who are interested. 266 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:45,400 And so I do feel like it's shifting. I do feel like the word is getting out there and people are are learning that. 267 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:53,960 Yeah, there is a really nice career, like the window of career opportunities and that the money to be made is amazing. 268 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,520 Yeah, absolutely. 269 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:06,040 All right. Well, I hope this brings a little insight into changes that we are seeing in society and acceptance. 270 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:15,320 And it opens opportunities to fill gaps that we have previously looked at as challenges and now look at as opportunities. 271 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,640 So I thank you all joining so much today. 272 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:34,360 I hope to continue these conversations to help paint this better picture, to get rid of our crayons and get out the paints and start showing that there are so many opportunities for success and the opportunities to impact the world that we live in. 273 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:41,960 A lot of people don't look at HVAC and refrigeration as an environmentally impactful career, but we're starting to hear a lot more. 274 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,080 We're now moving to things like the HFC phase downs. 275 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:52,840 We are starting to talk more about high efficiency equipment and reducing energy consumption, and it all lands in our lap. 276 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,880 So I don't know what that slogan would be. 277 00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:01,720 I've heard so many interesting ideas of how we can rebrand our industry. 278 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:07,800 So I don't know that it needs a rebranding. I just think it just needs a little brighter color. 279 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:12,200 All right. Thank you all so much for joining us and look forward to our next opportunity. 280 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,320 Thank you.