1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,120 Soften your senses, ways to become a better speaker, listener and follower. 2 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:16,700 This session was recorded live at the 2023 National HVACR Education Conference. 3 00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:21,080 Learn more about the UA at ua.org. 4 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,640 Well thank you all for joining us today. 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,160 We're going to hang out with Brian Kelly from the UA. 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,320 And man, Brian, what a topic. 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:33,680 How do you prepare to be a new person in the industry? 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:38,960 To prepare a new person in the industry, I mean you just have a willingness to want to 9 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,720 work with your hands, to want to learn each and every day. 10 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,480 I mean that's the key. 11 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:50,760 In HVACR, you are learning every day and if you're not, you won't survive. 12 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,920 You know I think back about my days when I got into the trade. 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,800 You know I started out in a small family, ran business, we did refrigeration, we did 14 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,040 HVAC. 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:05,120 But that person mentoring me along the way taught me a lot about the soft skills about 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:11,880 being a person, about actually showing up for work and having a positive attitude. 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,480 So how does that play just in work ethic alone? 18 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,840 Because I know that this is something that you could probably spend a lot of time educating 19 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:20,840 on. 20 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:27,240 Yeah, I mean so work ethic, for me personally, I think that is something that's integral 21 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:28,240 to a person. 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,880 I mean I think people are naturally born with that. 23 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:38,840 And the whole key to this whole industry, I mean you can start with no prior experience. 24 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:45,320 If you have the ability to show up on time, you show up with a good attitude, you hustle, 25 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,080 you don't have to know anything. 26 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,680 But if you're given a task by say somebody that's mentoring you, do that task like it's, 27 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,800 you know if he's asked you to sweep the floor, make it the cleanest floor on the planet. 28 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:02,120 I mean if you have that within you, everything else is teachable. 29 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:07,600 Yeah, I get that question all the time from friends, educators, contractors. 30 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,840 How do you teach somebody to want to clean the van out? 31 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:18,400 Oh man, if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be sitting here with you. 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:23,040 But the truth of the matter is when you're organized, you're a much better technician 33 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:28,200 because you can find things, you can do things more efficiently, and you do a better job 34 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:29,200 for the customer. 35 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:30,640 Yeah, absolutely. 36 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:35,120 So I think back about those early days of getting into the trade and what things would 37 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:41,680 I want someone to tell me about the trades and how to prepare myself for working in the 38 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:42,680 trades. 39 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,240 You know one, that's right, you have to mentally want to learn. 40 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,480 You have to enjoy working with your hands. 41 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,240 And that's a little bit different of a trait in today's generation that was like when you 42 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:55,240 and I were growing up. 43 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,120 You know when you and I were growing up, it was kind of expected that you worked on your 44 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:00,120 own bike. 45 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,840 It was kind of expected that you, you know, broke things and maybe tried fixing things. 46 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:09,720 And that's somewhat changed as we've moved into a disposable industry. 47 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:14,520 But in our world in HVAC refrigeration, it's not so the case. 48 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:23,880 We're still here to fix things and learning how to use your hands if you don't already 49 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:24,880 use your hands. 50 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:31,160 So like say I'm a young technician coming into the trade and I'm looking at HVAC refrigeration 51 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:36,880 classes, you know, what should be my expectations of using my hands to work? 52 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:44,560 Yeah, well using your hands to work and using tools, that doesn't mean your iPhone, right? 53 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:51,920 On occasion it is there to help and you know with technology the iPhone and how-to videos 54 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,080 are certainly helpful. 55 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,320 But before you get to that point, you know, you need to know the basics. 56 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,800 I mean you need to know the basics, how to use regular hand tools. 57 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:07,560 And again, I still go back to, you know, a clear mind showing up with a good attitude 58 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:09,000 and all that. 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Anything can be taught. 60 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,040 But certainly, you know, like you mentioned earlier, the kids today aren't using tools. 61 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,400 They're not working on their own bikes. 62 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,480 They're not working on cars. 63 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:21,600 Everything is automated. 64 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,240 So it does present a new set of challenges for today. 65 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,780 Yeah, that's what I get from a lot of our educators is how do we work with our younger 66 00:04:30,780 --> 00:04:33,680 generations to encourage them to want to work? 67 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,520 Because this industry is a very physical industry. 68 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,360 There's a lot of using your hands. 69 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,760 There's a lot of carrying weight tools and maneuvering ladders. 70 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:50,640 And so there's a physical component to it that may not always be as well received. 71 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:52,320 But I think we were all that way. 72 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,160 I mean, let's think about when we got into the trades. 73 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,040 I don't know that I was ever excited to crawl into a crawl space. 74 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,800 But sharp mind and sharp body will get you in a get, you know, bring you a long way in 75 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,880 life, I'll tell you. 76 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:10,560 And you know, something else, especially for young people coming into the trade, it's very 77 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:16,120 important to understand that, you know, you know, guys like us that have that have been 78 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,680 worked their whole careers in the trade, we can look back and say, man, what a wonderful 79 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:21,680 trade. 80 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:26,760 And I still this is one I'd probably say this is the best trade on the planet. 81 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,200 Not every experience is going to be positive. 82 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:35,320 And one thing that you really need to remember is even bad experiences are learning experiences. 83 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:40,680 And as long as you as long as you continue to learn each and every day, that's where 84 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:42,280 you're going to find your success. 85 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:43,280 Exactly. 86 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:47,960 And this industry is the the epitome of daily learning. 87 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:49,920 That's what kept me in this industry. 88 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,840 When I got into HVAC, I didn't know that I was going to stay here for a career. 89 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:55,920 You know, it was a good paying job. 90 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,240 It was a family business that I had married into. 91 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,140 And it just it was it was a job like many jobs. 92 00:06:03,140 --> 00:06:10,320 And then 20 some years later, I'm still experiencing new opportunities, new ways to push my own 93 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:11,840 personal limits. 94 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:16,240 So when we talk about preparing students to work with their hands and being in a physical 95 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:22,120 environment, I think it's very important that we help them understand that they're now able 96 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:31,400 to learn a craft and this is absolutely a craft where you can create and fix and repair 97 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:36,160 and do things with your hands that many people will never have the opportunity to do in their 98 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:37,160 life. 99 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:38,160 Sure. 100 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:43,040 And not only that, not only can you fix, install, fix heating and air conditioning, but, you 101 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:48,200 know, for an HVAC tech, everybody, anyone that's listening to this knows fully well, 102 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:53,000 you can't be an accomplished HVAC technician unless you know electrical, unless you know 103 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:54,000 plumbing. 104 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,960 I mean, it's the combination of a whole bunch of trades wrapped in. 105 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:01,040 And I'll tell you, you know, it has pros and cons when you own your own house, you can 106 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,880 do everything, everything on your own. 107 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:09,480 But you know, when you get home from work, you're not necessarily going to do that. 108 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,600 Kind of goes back to the old notage of, you know, the the mechanic that drives the beater 109 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,800 when he comes home because he fixes them all day. 110 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,240 He doesn't want to fix his own. 111 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,160 That can sometimes happen. 112 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,600 So true, so true. 113 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,840 But it is a very, very stable career. 114 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:30,120 You know, it's a job where you learn skills and, you know, maybe with our younger generation, 115 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:40,960 they haven't had the opportunity to learn that value in self-diagnostics and self-repair. 116 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:46,040 The gratification that comes from taking something that is broken, broken and turning it into 117 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,480 something that is almost a new creation. 118 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:54,780 And so being able to take a project, evaluate a project and dive into it. 119 00:07:54,780 --> 00:07:59,520 And I know it can be very intimidating to, you know, try to learn new skills that you 120 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:05,040 may not have been associated to growing up because it has changed. 121 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,160 The industry has changed so much. 122 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,880 We don't have the things to work on that we used to as young kids, you know, tear into 123 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:12,200 and fix and play with. 124 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,120 And so much of it is electronic and disposable. 125 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:21,840 But in the evolution of work, when we get into the field, we have all of these things 126 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,540 to now learn and experience. 127 00:08:25,540 --> 00:08:28,320 And it adds so much character and dynamic to your life. 128 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,740 I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with young students. 129 00:08:31,740 --> 00:08:36,000 You know, they're learning HVAC and refrigeration and they come back and go, you know what I 130 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:37,000 did this weekend? 131 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,120 I tore the brakes off of my car. 132 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,560 Yeah, you know, and it's so true. 133 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:46,000 And once you have the once you get that, you know, that that initial itch, once you get 134 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,720 the vibe to to really start diving in and you have, you know, you have to do it at work. 135 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:58,280 And that gives you the, you know, the the confidence, if you will, to to tackle anything 136 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:04,680 because, you know, let's face it, HVAC technicians, primarily or a high percentage of the time 137 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:06,480 are working by themselves. 138 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,840 And if you can't fix it, it's not getting fixed. 139 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:09,840 So exactly right. 140 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:15,920 You know, so it does build as especially as you grow in your career, you build that self-confidence 141 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:20,120 that pride that man, there's nothing that I can't fix. 142 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,600 You know, when you're teaching classes and you're teaching students, it's always neat 143 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:30,000 to see that development like that spark because you see that spark when they finally they 144 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,160 work on something and they turn around and they go, I did that. 145 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:35,640 I made this happen. 146 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,320 I figured this out. 147 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,040 And it just continues to grow. 148 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,080 You know, I get a lot of times people go, man, how do you learn to work on it? 149 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:43,600 Well, it was broken. 150 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,640 So I was taught that if it's broken, you attempt to fix it. 151 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:51,120 Yeah, man, that was probably the most satisfying time of my career when I was when I was an 152 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:52,120 instructor. 153 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,680 I taught HVAC for five years. 154 00:09:54,680 --> 00:10:01,840 And in you know, when you when you see somebody sitting in your classroom and and all of a 155 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:03,720 sudden you see that light bulb goes off. 156 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,440 I mean, man, driving home, that's the best feeling in the whole entire world. 157 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:13,120 And you know, one of the other things to understand, too, especially as a as a former instructor, 158 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:17,760 you know, when you not every student learns the same way. 159 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:22,960 So when as an educator, if you have if you can put it into different words or maybe, 160 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,960 you know, explain it in a couple of different ways, the same same approach to to to a solution 161 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:28,960 in a different picture. 162 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:29,960 Yeah, yeah. 163 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,600 I mean, that's I think that's really the key to being a really it take, you know, from 164 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:39,360 an average instructor to a great instructor is being able to reach more of your audience. 165 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:40,520 Yeah, absolutely. 166 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,040 That's one thing that I've had the ability to learn so much in the last few years by 167 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,720 talking to other educators and listening to people who have had these experiences in life 168 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:54,000 is that many times we'll get stuck in a rut where we're teaching the same way. 169 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,620 And the outcome is changing. 170 00:10:56,620 --> 00:11:02,640 So is is it in the students or is it in our own delivery? 171 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,160 I tend to think it's in the delivery. 172 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:10,160 I do as well, you know, because, like I said, if you can take if you can explain the same 173 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:15,200 the same solution to a problem in a in a couple or a few different ways, you know, you'll 174 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,320 you'll look around the room and you you tend as you, you know, as you've been doing this 175 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,800 for a little while, you know, you can see those light bulbs going off and it's really 176 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:24,800 it's satisfying. 177 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:32,920 Yeah, I had a conversation with another colleague here recently about the the way that our content 178 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:38,560 is being received is different than it was a generation ago and a generation before that. 179 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:43,720 So I've done a lot of time studying, you know, the the way that we interpret and receive 180 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:45,880 content. 181 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,480 And if we look at our society, our society has changed and our delivery methods have 182 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:51,480 changed. 183 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:58,240 So if we continue to teach with the same the same platform that we've always used and we 184 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:04,360 start seeing that our class is not participating as much and that our grades are diminishing, 185 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,320 it's time to start looking for new avenues for instructional delivery. 186 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:13,000 And that's what we we've done a lot in the last few years is looked at new ways to deliver 187 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,800 content because HVAC refrigeration and electrical plumbing. 188 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:23,440 I mean, these concepts, yeah, we have an evolution of them, but the fundamentals are never really 189 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:24,440 going to change. 190 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:25,800 That's we look at like refrigeration. 191 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,400 Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. 192 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:33,440 And in fact, you know, certainly what I found in my experience is, you know, the lion's 193 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:38,400 share of people that that that choose to come into a trade for one reason or another, but 194 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:45,080 probably the most most often heard reason I've heard is because they just didn't want 195 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:46,080 to go to college. 196 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,480 They were just they didn't want to sit in a classroom. 197 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:53,840 So most of our folks, let's face it, they learn better by doing so hands on the hands 198 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:59,320 on when you incorporate hands on into into theory or you you know, you you know, you 199 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:03,680 just punctuate it with a little hands on and showing them exactly what that theory is all 200 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:04,680 about. 201 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:06,440 You know, real time. 202 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,640 That's where that's where you really get the results. 203 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:10,640 Yeah, I absolutely agree. 204 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,100 All right. 205 00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:13,100 Good stuff, Brian. 206 00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:15,240 I really appreciate you joining us today. 207 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,400 And let's go pick another topic to talk about. 208 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:19,400 Sure. 209 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:20,400 Anytime. 210 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:37,080 Come back soon. 211 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:47,680 OK.