How and Why the HVAC Industry Can Appeal to Young People

The labor shortage in the trades has been reported on ad nauseam for years. However, the tide seems to be turning with Gen-Z leading the way. The HVAC industry is also experiencing an upturn in young people joining its ranks. Many focus on college costs. However, the answer goes further.

Wider Diverse Career Path

In the past, when contractors were primarily small companies, there were limited career paths available in HVAC. Young people entered the industry, and the only future opportunity was to buy the company you started with or start your own.

Not today.

As Private Equity (PE) has become entrenched in HVAC and larger companies have emerged in the industry, various options have arisen.

“PE brought the career path concept - where you start as an apprentice, move to installation, and then either service or installation manager, then general manager, to owning your own business one day – to HVAC,” says Jim Hinshaw, a vice president of sales at Service Nation.

Angie Snow, a principal industry advisor for ServiceTitan, adds, “The opportunities are endless between those involved on the labor end and back office.”

Young people appreciate the variety of opportunities. “There's usually something for everyone,” says 18-year-old Brandon Snow (Angie Snow's son). Snow, an HVAC installer at Western Heating, Air & Plumbing, adds, “If you don't like one position, there's another spot in the field or office that you might like.”

Larry Shoemaker is a branch manager with Haller, director of education for the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC), and a former HVAC company owner. When Shoemaker talks with high school-aged students, he asks them about the type of position they're looking for.

“I encourage them to consider the pathways that the workplace offers and if there's room for growth. When I owned Deluxe, I had nowhere to grow them. With HomeEx (parent company of Haller) there are tons of opportunities that aren't available in a mom-and-pop shop.”

Good Salary

When you were young, your parents and other adults may have said: If you want to be well-paid, go to college. You'll never make much money from the trades.

That thinking is outdated. Jobs in the trades can also be high-paying. And young people are getting the picture.

Hinshaw reflects. “A successful business owner comes on stage in front of a crowd of techs and installers and showed three huge posters. A Hummer, Jaguar, and a RestoMod Ford. He said, ‘these are not my cars, these are cars my team of service techs and installers own. That is the kind of money that can be made in this industry.’

“It was the best pitch I ever saw as the crowd was in awe.”

It's not just outliers who are making good salaries in HVAC. Technicians can start at $60,000 and quickly move on to higher-paying salaries, depending on their path.

“I had an HVAC tech come in four years ago as part of the coop before going full time,” Shoemaker says. “He's now 22 and in a sales position while on the way to making 300,000 in bonus and salary.”

Going into HVAC, rather than attending a four-year college, also saves young people and their families from huge four-year college tuition costs. “Word is getting out about how much you can make and that you don't have to go to college,” Angie says. She encourages parents of young people considering HVAC, “If you're worried about your son/daughter making money in HVAC, don't. The opportunities are there.”

Influencers/Cool Factor

Authorities asked Famous thief Willie Sutton why he robbed banks. He responded, “Because that's where the money is.” Many young people are very into social media and YouTube.

Paige Knowles, i.e., Plumber Paige, is a 20-something who entered the trades after falling in love with the work while helping her parents maintain their rental properties.

Knowles interned in the trades during high school (she later attended college for construction management and has an HVAC degree) and quickly realized there was little support for the younger generation interested in the trades. Her goal is to expose young people to the positive elements of the trades.

“I want to end the stigma around the trades, especially for women, and let them know there's a place in the trades for them," Knowles says. “People think it's all hard, dirty work, but the trades are desirable work and offer rewarding career paths where you can make lots of money and do meaningful tasks.”

Knowles, who works part-time for an HVAC company, has a growing social media presence and has authored three books for younger people. She has spoken to crowds of up to 5,000 people as part of her quest to make the skilled trades cool again.

Social media is just one way to entice young people to consider HVAC.

Brandon Snow got into the industry through his parents’ company and found out he enjoyed the experience and liked the people. “While I follow some influencers on TikTok, like Fat Cheeto, they're not the real reason I'm so interested. It's more the people who have taught me a lot about the trade and the company that I work for that keeps me motivated.”

What else can HVAC companies do to attract young people?

“Examine your business and consider how appealing it is to Gen Z,” Angie Snow says. “Up-to-date technology, an active social media account that shows fun culture, and living your values appeals to young people.”

The goal — create buzz.

Conclusion

The challenge of filling the pipeline in the trades is real. Many studies project that the need will grow more dire as the last of the baby boomers retire. If the uptick of those entering HVAC from Gen Z continues and grows, they will minimize the hole in the market.