People say college isn’t for everyone, but I don’t like that saying. It makes it sound like college is just for the elite, and that’s not the case. The message should be that college isn’t the only path to a rewarding career. Education needs to be relevant, and a college degree doesn’t necessarily provide life skills that are needed to be successful…only life does. Having real life work experiences can be even more valuable than a college degree.
That’s where apprenticeship programs come in. According to an ACCA member survey, 90% of respondents believe that trade schools are not producing job ready candidates. So, many ACCA members are looking for ways to build their own education centers. ACCA’s outgoing Board Chairman, Eric Knaak led an ACCA member webinar highlighting how Isaac Heating and Air Conditioning built their own program. Taking what they learned from this webinar, several ACCA members took the initiative and started building their own education centers.
ACCA has numerous resources to help you develop your in-house education program. ACCA offers sales, HVAC 101, basic electricity, air flow, quality installation, home performance, and many other education programs. Technical education is a high priority, and we want to make it as easy and assessible as possible. In fact, we have added even more regional classes to our in-person training schedule.
ACCA has also added new online training for entry level technicians, ACCA’s boot camp level training for refrigeration and air conditioning. We know how helpful it is for a new recruit to have the basic technical skills to successfully integrate into your HVACR business.
And, we just rolled out our new soft skills training program, WOW Experiences. We have a specific program for operation managers, CSR’s, CSR Managers, and dispatchers, and another program that is geared towards owners, service managers, comfort advisors and technicians. We have teamed up with Power Selling Pros to offer you this education program that will benefit your entire team -from the top down -and it is being offered at numerous regional locations throughout the year. This new program will help even the most technical people communicate easily with customers and feel confident about their abilities to sell quality installation. We can help inspire your employees by teaching them the best way to share and communicate technical information with consumers –creating wow experiences at the kitchen table.
Whether you want to teach them in-house or have your employees learn on their own time, ACCA’s education team has developed ways for your employees to learn more and excel in the office and in the field. If you have a specific idea in mind, reach out to training@acca.org and we can help customize a program with you!
ACCA has a ton of resources for you, and we hope that you take full advantage of everything that is included in your membership. ACCA is the most powerful and forward-thinking network of contractors in the country, and it is our pleasure to serve you.
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