Engineering & Construction
Mentorship and Knowledge Transfer are Key HVAC Workforce Development Strategies for a Growing Industry
As retirements accelerate, HVAC companies are racing to pass down critical expertise before institutional knowledge walks out the door
Key takeaways
Accelerating retirements are creating urgent knowledge gaps in the HVAC workforce.
Mentorship and structured knowledge transfer are among the most effective strategies for workforce development.
Building sustainable talent pipelines is essential for HVAC companies to remain competitive as the industry grows.
The HVAC industry is facing a critical challenge: a growing demand for skilled workers amid a wave of retirements. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for HVAC technicians is projected to grow by 9% from 2023 to 2033. With this increasing demand, HVAC workforce development has become essential as companies seek to attract, train, and retain the next generation of talent in this highly technical field.
The need for HVAC technicians is projected to grow by 9% from 2023 to 2033.
What strategies are effective for building a future-ready HVAC workforce while preserving the knowledge of retiring industry veterans?
In Straight Outta Crumpton, host Greg Crumpton sits down with Cole Stewart, Operations and Safety Manager at Gentry Service in Asheville, NC. They explore the steps that Gentry Service is taking to prepare the workforce of tomorrow through hands-on training, mentorship, and forward-thinking career development.
Key Takeaways:
- Fostering future talent: Cole discusses Gentry's proactive engagement with local colleges and apprenticeship programs, emphasizing the importance of structured training and career pathways for new recruits as part of comprehensive HVAC workforce development.
- Craftsmanship at its core: Cole highlights how foundational HVAC skills—plumbing, electrical, and fabrication—apply to multiple fields, showing how comprehensive training can create well-rounded professionals.
- Preserving expertise: Greg and Cole address the importance of capturing and documenting the knowledge of experienced workers through mentorship programs, recorded training sessions, and internal knowledge-sharing platforms.
Cole Stewart has dedicated 28 years to the HVAC industry, starting his career in 1995. With experience in residential and light commercial systems, Cole now serves as the Operations and Safety Manager at Gentry Service. His focus on workforce development and hands-on mentorship is helping shape the future of HVAC technicians in Western North Carolina.
About the author
<a style="color: white;font-weight: 600;" href="https://marketscale.com/shows/straight-outta-crumpton/">Straight Outta Crumpton</a><br/><br/> Greg's personal & professional goals are to serve the people that he am working with and/or for. He carries this mantra in his professional life and his home life. Having 40+ years as a full-service mechanical and mission critical environments contractor with a heavy emphasis on service, maintenance and repair. Greg specialize in mission critical cooling (Heat Rejection) and electrical infrastructures, as well as the comfort cooling surrounding them. As a continual entrepreneur, several markets strike him as interesting. As varied as you could imagine, they range from Coffee with my bud's at www.CommonPlaceCoffee.com, all the way to serving as an adviser for several start-ups in the emerging technology world via www.aGlobalVenture.com & www.AtomPower.com and others. Giving back to his community is of equal importance to him, www.apparo.org and Animal Welfare are just a couple ways of doing just that.
