In this video, we talk about the dwindling population of good HVAC technicians. Joshua discusses some of the reasons why we are seeing some technicians get out of the trade and why there aren't enough filling the vacuum. New HVAC systems have technology like we've never seen before requiring HVAC technicians to have skills and expertise like never before. What can you do as a homeowner if you can't find a good HVAC technician in your area?
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Chapters
0:00 Intro: Finding good HVAC Technicians
0:23 Baby Boomer generation leaving HVAC industry
0:59 Blue collar work is less than college education
1:39 Lack of training/education at trade schools
2:44 New Technologies in HVAC
3:40 Pay for HVAC techs
5:11 New businesses and self employement
5:44 Best techs won't put up with bad employees
6:03 New DIY HVAC products coming!
6:59 Can you find a tech to fix a DIY product?
7:19 What do you do if you find a good HVAC tech/company?
7:47 Best techs won't put up with bad customers
8:21 Your thoughts?
#hvac #hvactech #labormarket
For more information on Griffin Air, visit https://www.griffinair.net/
For more information on New HVAC Guide, visit https://www.newhvacguide.com/overview
*Need Financing for your HVAC? Visit https://www.newhvacguide.com/financing
*Own a Service Biz and want to grow? Visit https://www.newhvacguide.com/mastermindgroup
*Our favorite products?
Favorite Thermostat click here: https://amzn.to/3wt3Vwh
Favorite Air Cleaner here: https://amzn.to/3Nfxw27
Favorite Air Filter here: https://amzn.to/3vpVbWl
Air Monitor here: https://amzn.to/3oJ3LvD
Dehumidifier here: https://amzn.to/3Q4woPp
Humidifier here: https://amzn.to/3PEQPTj
Smart Vent here: https://amzn.to/3JDfGDX
Griffin Air LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Each of your purchases via our Amazon affiliation links supports our cause at no additional cost to you.
Chapters
0:00 Intro: Finding good HVAC Technicians
0:23 Baby Boomer generation leaving HVAC industry
0:59 Blue collar work is less than college education
1:39 Lack of training/education at trade schools
2:44 New Technologies in HVAC
3:40 Pay for HVAC techs
5:11 New businesses and self employement
5:44 Best techs won't put up with bad employees
6:03 New DIY HVAC products coming!
6:59 Can you find a tech to fix a DIY product?
7:19 What do you do if you find a good HVAC tech/company?
7:47 Best techs won't put up with bad customers
8:21 Your thoughts?
#hvac #hvactech #labormarket
Finding a good Heating and Air Tech is getting harder than ever. I Want to do this video because I Was talking to a friend of mine the other day and we were just talking about the labor market and finding good people, but ultimately how it's getting harder and harder for homeowners. especially when I help folk with our new HVAC guide. I'll talk to them about finding a good heating and air tax. it's just getting so tough now. and I think there's a couple reasons for that. I Think we are seeing the baby boomer generation who for the longest time took care of a lot of these things. the services in people's homes and things like that. But when you have such a large generation of people that population wise that filled so many positions and now they've just all retired and there was no one there to fill the vacuum. Old-Timers that knew how to fix everything. They didn't have any apprentices that wanted to learn from them there to learn the trade now. I Can't say there haven't been any. Obviously there's been some but few and far between in comparison, right? And you have just all these folks retiring and just no one replacing them. I Think another thing that is changing, but for the longest time blue collar worked was just something that some folks just either didn't want to do or they felt like they were above it. Whatever the case was. But for the longest time I Remember when I was a kid folks would say get good grades, go to college and then you should be good. You'll get in with a company and then work 40 Years of your life and retire and get a pension and all these things right? And so I think those days are over and a lot of folks recognize that. I Heard that this past year was the first year that college attendance has been down in comparison to years in the past and I think that that may change a little bit, but ultimately Blue Collar work out to get your hands dirty. A lot of folks just they don't want to do it, but even the folks that do want to do it. One thing that I've realized as I've hired folks for Griffin Air is just the lack of Education I Hired a guy he had been in trade school for a year and going to school to be a Heating and Air Tech and there were just simple things that they were just not teaching them at the schools. Nothing personal. but I think a lot of trade schools and just schools in Gen. General Reminds me of a lot of colleges. They're there to take your money and not really teach you anything of any real value. He had some skills he had some knowledge, but none of them really applied to what we really needed him to do. It was basically like hiring somebody that had no experience at all. Kind of felt bad for the guy he had spent all this money to go to school but couldn't even wire a thermostat. To me, that should have been. Honestly, when I hire someone new at Griffin Air, that's the first thing I Teach them. The very first thing I teach them is how to wire a thermostat, what each one of the wires do and then gives them a base knowledge that I can now take and say okay, now that you know what that wire does, let me show you how the system works and you can see that it closes this relay and it does this and I don't know if that's going to change, but that's definitely there and I think it's being Amplified even more with these newer technologies that are coming out. Got the guys that are new and learning the trade. but you also have guys that have been doing this for a long time. They knew what they were doing and now they've almost kind of got to relearn things they've got to add to their knowledge base. Jason When they kind of had it all figured out anyway, right? They were masters of the trade and now it's like they're having to relearn a whole bunch of new stuff. so you know the newer technologies have. Definitely Amplified that I think that if you are a homeowner that you're looking for a good heating and air technician, whether they work for themselves or they work for a company, ultimately finding kind of that sweet spot somebody that's been doing it a while. but maybe they're still hungry and learning the trade learning these new technologies. I Can tell you as an employer of other people that has been tough. I have some really good guys that work at Griffin Air. They're amazing folks, but we've had a lot of folks come and go that for whatever reason either, didn't want to get with it. Maybe it's just not what they want to do and then finally to kind of wrap all this up. I'll say that one of the complaints that I've heard on the guide I've heard it from you guys I've heard it in comments on my YouTube videos and that is a lot of heating and air techs want to be paid top dollar if you find somebody that even if they are good, you feel like you're almost being taken advantage of a lot of cases because the good ones they want to be paid for being good, right? You kind of get what you pay for, and if you go with the cheap guy, sometimes you get what you pay for when you find a good one. sometimes it just kind of feels like they're a little overpriced, right? Honestly I Think that's going to get worse I Think as time goes on, finding these good heating and air technicians, more and more of them, they're going to be wanting top dollar. A couple weeks ago I was reading a social media post where a guy was saying hey, in my state I'm looking for a union to join because my last job I was in a union and I was making forty two dollars an hour and three weeks vacation and blah blah. All these benefits and things and the point is I mean does he deserve all that I guess but that's not the point. The point is you the homeowner has to pay for that if you want somebody that's really good that is making that kind of money. A Lot of times folks just don't realize that it's the homeowner in the end that gets to pay for that. and so when you get homeowners like you watching this that maybe your income didn't go up so your income has not been keeping up with all this inflation in and The Changing Times and all the higher prices and now you've got all these heating and air attacks that they're top dollar and they want to be paid as such and so that just kind of makes it worse and worse. So I think as time goes on, you're going to see more folks being self-employed You're going to see the really good technicians out there. They're going to start their own businesses. They're not going to want to work for companies that set their pay for them. They're not going to want to have homeowners that are not necessarily being so nice to them all the time, and they have to kind of put up with it because they work for a company and they don't want to lose their job. So I think you're going to see the really good ones. They're going to start their own businesses. So in towns where you might have seen two or three big companies now, you're going to maybe see 10 or 15 small companies, right? And those same guys that are really good and they're going to get paid top dollar. and they're going to be self-employed They're not going to want to put up with the crappy employees that don't want to show up or don't want to learn the trade and so they're going to stay small on purpose. They're going to intentionally not grow because their profit margins are going to be really good regardless. Also, on top of that, you're going to see more and more products. More and more manufacturers, More and more things that are geared towards the homeowner, the DIY the do-it-yourselfers and so you're going to see more and more homeowners kind of doing that sort of thing because they can't find anybody good that they feel comfortable with giving their money to. Because I Heard a guy make the argument the other day that when it comes to DIY stuff for homeowners, yeah, they might be inadequately educated to do some of the things they're doing. but so are the guys they're calling. So are the heating and air technicians that they have coming to their home. They're inadequate too. So what's the difference? Save the money and do crap work yourself, right? So I shouldn't say crap work but I see the argument there where a homeowner's saying? Well, I'll just save the money and try to figure this out myself. I Think you're going to see more of that. You're seeing companies that were DIY coming out with more products and then you're seeing more companies get into that game where they're coming out with do-it-yourself type stuff. So I think the conundrum becomes if you are a homeowner and you install something and then there's something wrong with it finding someone that can and will repair that after that. So if you've now tried to do it yourself and there's something wrong, whether it's right away or even two, three years down the road, finding a good heating and air technician that will now repair that system that you put in. But finally, let me just wrap up and say, what do you do if you find a good one, If you find a good Heating and Air Tech that you really like, what should you do I would say hold on to them. For starters, definitely take care of them. Make sure that you as their customer aren't shortchanging them or whatever or leaving them bad reviews. I would say sort of like if you stay at a three-star hotel and maybe you didn't get five-star service, but you did get three star. You stayed there, you paid for three star and everything was good nonetheless. Maybe you shouldn't leave them a bad review. Maybe that guy might have more of a reason to walk away if they have a customer that isn't treating them the way they want to be treated. I think you're going to see a lot of that I'm seeing it I've seen guys on social media groups say had a customer do this or that treat me this way or that way and I'm busy enough without them. so I told him to go call someone else and I think you're going to see more of that as well that the good ones the really good heating and air technicians and companies. They're just gonna be so busy if someone's not treating them well, or if they don't want to pay the rates that they're charging that, you're going to see more of that as well. I'll probably get some argument on that if you want to comment down below. I'd love to hear it I Know whenever I do videos like this, people seem to take exception to some of this stuff. I'm just throwing this out there because that's what I'm seeing love to hear your thoughts on it. Definitely comment down below. I Think that a lot of these things are going to get worse as time goes on, so it'll be interesting to watch that Thanks for watching Hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next time.
Griffin, I think you hit the nail on the head with this video. I'm a retired Boomer after 40 years in the industry. Towards the end of my run I was tech support for our field techs. I saw the drop off in folks that did not want to turn wrenches but wanted to press buttons in a comfortable environment. They wilted in the Louisiana heat. I've gone from pneumatics to DOS and relays to solid state and had to relearn several new refrigerants during that time with centrifugal and large commercial units. Started out in residential. I see the trade is in good hands with folks like you out there.
Most of my customers are wealthy and have large complicated estates and that include their factories, office building and homes. Being most of the time the 4th or 5th contractor to look at the same on going problem(s) mainly with their high tech expensive equipment they ask me why they can't seem to find anyone who knows what they are doing. My answer is always the same…and that is "it's your fault" that there are very few highly skilled techs in most any trade anymore. So I ask them at their last family/friends reunion/holiday with a lot of people sitting around when the discussion comes to the future of their kids, kids kids and grand kids as to a career field do they, the adults, advise these kids of theirs to look into the mechanical trades as a career as it offers security, good pay, many opportunities and a great sense of accomplishment. The room goes dead with the overall silent agreement among them that to work with ones hands out in the field in harsh atmosphere is for second class type of people. Not one person or group has ever tried to correct my statement. Our "new" world, for the most part, looks down upon anyone who is not college degreed or who is working with their hands and minds outside of a desk job. And it's not going to get any better..but it probably won't have to with the ever increasing use of mini split as the answer to modern day air condition and heating which is now being promoted heavily to the DIY crowd. Are you in Ottawa ?
Mike Rowe from dirty jobs said for every 5 blue collar workers that retire only 2 replace them
You get what you pay for. That's all I got from this. As a consumer I know this. I'm willing to pay for experience. Please do not assume that consumers aren't willing to pay for quality.
Pfft, I'm not surprised. In a way they're getting their comeuppance. Couple times I tried to get hired on as a tech and was passed over, don't know why, people just aren't honest anymore. I think it's because bosses want their underlings to be good, but not better than they are.
I believe my mistake was thinking they'd love a Troubleshooting expert who can isolate causes of problems in a quick systematic manner, who is capable of designing the control boards in the units much less wire a thermostat (did that at nine years old). Someone who walked into the tests for journeyman electrician and universal tech and came away with the cards.
The way I see it, they screwed themselves, and now I wouldn't work for them. It's just not worth it. Makes me chuckle that they're scrambling (not you though Josh, but you're smarter than the average guy in the business).
Coming from a student/young tech perspective. My experience with being out in the field after only 5 months of schooling , which really wasn’t much. First day I got thrown into a van with no tools and had to do a 3 month late maintenance on a commercial building with a 100 ton intellipak and having the stress of dealing with pissed off property management people, and company management breathing down my neck to get the job done, plus no help from older guys when I asked for it. I decided I rather continue my education and be a mechanical engineer or a controls technician. I very much love hvac and the trade. But really these companies don’t want to train new guys, just seems like they want to throw apprentices/cheap labor at the problem and hopefully the problem gets fixed and the company makes a profit.
I have had two hvac projects since buying my house 2 years ago. I ended up doing the projects myself because after waiting multiple months for the contractors to commit, I needed to get the project done! Crazy the times we are in. The guys that string you along are the worst! Just give me an accurate answer! Untimately, the projects turned out great and i learned a lot about my systems but kind of sad that's my only option.
I think its going to get worse for the home owner, with higher energy standards, issues with refrigerants, home owners are going to have to get used to digging deeper in their pockets, dyi are going to have problems with refrigerants. Iv been retired 8 yrs now, no one was interested in following in my shoes.
On the school part. I’d love to eventually be a teacher at a local votech (vocational school) but the state typically has a set itinerary that you have to teach which is hot garbage usually
Most companies don't pay or they want to pay using commission and pushy sales. A lot of good techs get tired of putting up with the bullshit in residential so we went commercial. Best move I ever made. Now I don't deal with idiot homeowners who want to sit there and watch over my shoulder and whine and cry about everything.
Problem is also now days companies are being bought out and are not looking for techs they are training sales folks. Real techs are sent on warranties calls, while sales techs are sent on customers with older equipment with problems.
Companies have been making fortunes. Our rate has increased dramatically because company didn’t have a choice. They are still making money. Unions are there for a reason. If you want good techs you will pay for them. Commercially or residentially. Are you in Barrhaven ?
Many folks with the proliferation of Mini-Splits will venture to install systems themselves. Results may be disastrous but they'll try! It's gonna happen! Service area Orleans??
I think many blue collar jobs are going to have to go to a apprenticeship setup. Get paid a much lower wage but you get to learn the trade. Companies are going to have to lure people that way, why pay thousands for a piece of paper, or learn a trade and get paid while learning. Hoping people just show up wanting these jobs is just not going to get it done. I work in the automotive trade and it's getting hard to find people to fill positions. Not only that but where I work is government fleet and were struggling to get applicants.
I know we lost a few new guys. Because as soon as they are ready to go on call. They don't want to do it. And it's only 3 days a month.
The nerve of a man wanting more money,vacation and benefits. Most of these owners take more vacations then anybody and get upset when you need to take off. This industry has become very greedy. SALE SALE SALE!!
I have an extreme interest in HVAC. Not in the "field" per say however I have taken refrigeration classes and obtained my EPA Universal earlier this year. In my early 30s I just do not believe I could match my current wages/benefit package working for a local HVAC company. Going out and opening my own business llc is the only way I see it ever working.
Skilled labor isn't cheap & cheap labor isn't skilled.
Im 31 years old. Started when i was 20. I work on everything from refrigeration, commercial/industrial heating and cooling to residential(mainly service) Im going off on my own soon and i dont plan on hiring anybody or working for another company no matter how high the pay is. I cant be bothered with fellow employees.
With access to the internet and bigger vans, it doesnt make sense to work for someone else when you can make all the money and work in peace.
Also i will say that 60% of installs i see out there are crap. There are too many "lazy experts" out there. Very few put in the real effort. I cant believe sometimes how much companies will charge for a crap job.
Yes, our trade is changing. Yes, young students don't want to learn. So, YES, the trade will have some issues until pay goes up to keep the older techs.
I had a fair sized HVAC business for 17 years and sold it last year. in the last 10 years of hiring we completely stopped hiring anyone out of school for 2 main reasons, first is like you mentioned the schools here in Canada is all theory and a little hands-on so they basically don't know much when they are thrown into the field. you basically have to have them tag with someone for a year which is too costly, when they do go out they make a lot of mistakes and cost money and aggravation.
The second point is that when they start to get good (sometimes not even 6 months into the trade) they act like they know everything and they are worth way more so they quit on you and go somewhere else for 1-2 dollars more ( most cases get canned when their true experience is acknowledged by the other company down the road) for those 2 reasons my company and many others I know all stopped hiring anyone that had less than 1-2 years experience. its sad but their entitlement and lack of loyalty or even courtesy to at least stay a few years for all the headaches and money they costed while they were learning is on them, I feel they did it to themselves. at one point the schools were just pumping these guys out like a cookie cutting machine promising 60-100K jobs but 70% of them never got hired. I had a pile of resumes in my drawer about 8 inches thick! of fresh graduated techs or less than 1 year exp.
Let me tell you what I think I'm a homeowner and what I have learned in the past few months it's hard to find a good honest AC company if you have an older system it needs to be repaired they price it out of market a new one will be cheaper so they say then they get tied up with the finance companies at a good rate up the price on a new system and it all sounds good but you still been price gouged cuz no AC companies that I've learned knows how to do repairs anymore they all becoming parts replaceers kind of like the old days of item mechanic they're just parts replaceers Service area Nepean??
Thanks Griff
I'm just starting to listen to your education about finding a good contractor
Plumber service tech make much more than A/C tech that has to change. I owen a mid size A/C and Plumbing business. Master Plumber Made 30 to 40 and hour A/C max out at 28. A/C tech knows more than any Plumber.