The HVAC industry has been faced with a growing labor shortage and the pressure to find skilled workers as the current workforce retires and the demand for technicians rises. To combat this shortage and strengthen the candidate pool, employers are partnering with educators and government officials to provide job training and vocational programs for the future workforce. A great example of this is Johnson Controls Pathways program, a program that provides a full curriculum and dedicated HVAC labs to help prepare students for a career in HVAC.
On April 25, 2019, Johnson Controls held an opening celebration and ribbon cutting for its new Commercial HVAC Pathways Vocational Lab in the Energy Coordinating Agency’s (ECA) Knight Green Jobs Training Center in Philadelphia. The new lab is part of an ongoing partnership between Johnson Controls and ECA, which is focused on providing training to participants including local Philadelphia youth, returning citizens, and unemployed/underemployed individuals who are looking to build a career in the new clean energy economy.
The new lab is part of an ongoing partnership between Johnson Controls and ECA, which is focused on providing training to participants including local Philadelphia youth, returning citizens, and unemployed/underemployed individuals who are looking to build a career in the new clean energy economy.
The lab curriculum is a collaboration between the Johnson Controls Institute and instructors from ECA who will deliver hands-on residential and commercial training, which will result in portable, stackable and national credentials. The Philadelphia School District is also utilizing the lab for their newly established, state certified, HVAC apprenticeship program. Historically, ECA’s job placement rate for individuals who complete similar training is 88%.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf spoke at the ceremony and was joined by Mayor Jim Kenney; Pat Clancy, CEO of Philadelphia Works; Sen. Christine Tartaglione; Michelle Armstrong, Executive Director of the Office of Career and Technical Education, School District of Philadelphia; and Emily Schapira, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Energy Authority.