What the HVAC industry is saying in D.C. — Part 1: Labor

Hi, Alec here. 

HVAC industry associations — PHCC, HARDI, and AHRI — last week flew to D.C. to advocate for contractors, distributors, and manufacturers.

Their goal? Ensuring policies on electrification and labor are practical — especially their implementation, considering the downstream effects on the industry and consumers. 

• I was invited by PHCC, and attended meetings and took notes. 

• Members from each state met with their representatives’ staff to discuss how policies impact them and provide win-win suggestions.

Below, in part one of a two-part series, are the takeaways from my notes on labor and workforce development:

#1: Pell Grants, a form of student aid, are available to undergraduate students, including those in community college HVAC programs. 

• The problem, as PHCC explains, is that most people come through contractor-run (or other) registered apprenticeship programs, where Pell Grants aren’t available — not from community colleges.

• A NY-based contractor shared that training an apprentice in his program costs him around $17,000, which he covers himself. Other contractors want to start in-house programs, but can’t bear the costs. 

• The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act was recently introduced to expand Pell Grant eligibility, allowing students enrolled in registered contractor-run apprenticeship programs, for example, to receive Pell Grants, reducing the cost burden on contractors.

• The takeaway: PHCC supports the bill and urges bipartisan support.   

#2: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a key workforce development law signed in 2014, helps job seekers, including those in HVAC, access employment by providing grants and other services.

• Late last year, the Stronger Workforce for America Act was introduced to reauthorize WIOA through 2030, effectively updating and funding it.

• If enacted, it would allocate more funds to upskilling the current workforce and support youth training programs.

• The House passed it by a bipartisan 378-26 vote in April, and it’s now heading to the Senate. 

• The takeaway: PHCC encourages its reauthorization and Senate approval.

#3: The flip side of the labor equation is recruitment. Workforce development policies help those entering the trades, but garnering interest in the first place is a different problem. While most D.C. conversations concerned workforce development, there was some recruitment chatter. 

• Jeff Voss, owner of Jeff’s Plumbing & Repair in North Carolina, suggests industry-wide awareness blitzes, meeting people where they are, like blockbuster movies. He even joked: “Mario was a missed opportunity. He’s a great plumber, but no one knows it.”

• He recommends targeted efforts to educate middle school parents on the value of trade careers, considering middle schoolers’ malleability compared to high schoolers.

• The takeaway: “Cultural attitudes must change,” PHCC notes.

The bottom line: As demand for skilled workers outpaces supply, the industry must work together to maintain a “robust job training framework,” as PHCC says, “that equips jobseekers with a critical lifetime skillset and pathways to secure employment.”