I had a sit-down meeting with the chairwoman of the local school board, where I pitched her my mentorship program idea. At this point in my career, I don’t handle a lot of the day-to-day operations. I have a crew of techs, and an office of workers, who manage the business for me. After putting in 30 years, I am not complaining about that! However, with a surplus of free time I wanted to do something to benefit the community. My idea is an HVAC training and mentorship program, to give troubled teens a career choice that doesn’t involve going to college or flipping burgers. I was lucky, because my dad was in the HVAC industry and got me a job right out of high school, but most kids don’t have an opportunity like that. In an era when college loan debt is crushing our economy, more kids need to get into trade work, in this case the HVAC industry. Demand is always high for this kind of skilled labor, and if teens knew that HVAC training was a suitable option to going to college, they might be interested! My plan is to hold meetings, and eventually set up some ride-alongs where students can spend a few hours with an HVAC tech observing their work. I would be happy to set up scholarships for low-income youth who showed an interest in getting into the HVAC field. HVAC work is highly paid and always in demand, and it doesn’t put you under a mountain of student loan debt to achieve it.
heater