Workforce development starts earlier than we think

Posted on:

September 29, 2026

Ask any contractor what keeps them up at night and the answer is almost always the same: workforce. Open positions go unfilled, experienced technicians are stretched thin, and the pipeline never quite seems strong enough.

For years, our industry has tried to solve that problem at the point of hiring; through job ads, bonuses, and training programs. Those efforts matter, but they miss something fundamental. We’re starting too late.

By the time a student is thinking about careers in high school, or even middle school, many of the big decisions have already been made. Not formally, but subconsciously. Ideas about what a “good job” looks like take shape early. And for most kids, the skilled trades simply aren’t part of that mental list. That’s the gap. It’s not that students don’t choose the trades. It’s that they were never introduced to them in the first place.

A different approach

If we want to fix workforce development, we need to move upstream; into the years where curiosity is still forming. That means showing up in K–5 environments, not to recruit, but to normalize the trades as part of everyday life. This is where the role of the contractor shifts. Not as a recruiter. Not as an instructor. But as a visible, real-world example of someone who solves problems and helps people.

I’ve seen what this looks like in practice. A contractor walks into an elementary classroom with a simple goal: read a story, answer a few questions, and spend a short amount of time engaging with students. No technical jargon. No complicated explanations. Just presence. And something interesting happens. The questions that follow aren’t about careers; they’re about how things work. How does air move? Why does water flow? What happens if something breaks? Kids connect the dots in a way that feels natural, because it is.

That moment, when curiosity meets relevance, is where workforce development actually begins.

What can contractors realistically do

One of the biggest misconceptions is that this kind of outreach requires a lot of time, training, or resources. It doesn’t. Contractor involvement can be simple and effective:

Show up as a guest reader for a short classroom session

Donate a book or toolkit that stays behind after the visit

Help facilitate a hands-on activity or discussion

Build a relationship with one local school or library

You’re not there to teach a trade. You’re there to show that the trades exist—and that they matter. That distinction is important.

Why it works

There is credibility that only a contractor can bring. When someone from the local community walks into a classroom, the work becomes tangible. Trades are no longer abstract concepts; they are real, visible, and connected to everyday life. And that visibility matters more than we often realize. Because once a child understands that someone in their own community makes a living solving real problems; keeping homes comfortable, fixing systems, helping people—that career path becomes legitimate. Not just possible, but respectable. That’s the foundation we’ve been missing.

The real call to action

Workforce development isn’t a single initiative or program. It’s the accumulation of small, consistent actions over time. A classroom visit. A conversation. A moment of curiosity that sticks. So the ask is simple: do one thing. Volunteer for one reading. Partner with one school. Show up once. Not because it solves your hiring challenges tomorrow—but because it changes the trajectory of how the next generation sees this industry. We don’t need to fix the entire workforce pipeline overnight. We just need to start earlier.

This article was originally featured in the Summer 2026 edition of ACCA Now Magazine. ACCA members can read the full magazine at https://hvac-blog.acca.org/magazine/.

Author
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Ryan Kiscaden

Senior Account Executive at Thermostat Recycling Corporation

Ryan L Kiscaden is the Senior Account Executive for Thermostat Recycling Corporation. He previously worked for a wholesale distributor totaling six years of HVACR channel experience.