1. Hampden Engineering Keith Avery
Filling the Skills gap Employment Outlook and Implications for Technical Education
Hampden Engineering
Keith Avery

2. Agenda / bridging the Skills gap
What is the skills GAP
How did we get here / cause and effect
Overview of employment opportunities.
Teach a Man to Fish / Self Confidence!!
Not the Prom Queen / Sexy doesn’t last..
Solutions for a solid life long career.

3. What is the skills gap
As I understand it, it's where particular types of workers are in short supply, or an employee or workforce is identified as lacking in particular skills.

4. What is the skills gap
Mike Rowe
Of Discovery Channel’s
Dirty Jobs

5. How did we get here / cause and effect
So how “DID” we get here?
In our zeal to promote higher education we place a much greater value on a degree, than we do a career. We neglected to show the benefits and value of post secondary technical and vocational education.
What are some of the contributing causes?
At its core, the skills gap is an education issue.
I have no empirical evidence but “I” believe Guidance Counselors are now and always have been a big proponent of Higher Education, at the expense technical and vocational training.
We have become so consumed with getting the corner office, that we have forgotten how to build the corner office.

6. How did we get here / cause and effect
For the longest time our students have been told they needed to work smart not hard and get a four year education if they wanted to succeed.
As Mike said, “there’s nothing bad about four year degree, if you have the time and money to pursue it”.

7. How did we get here / cause and effect
But statistics tell us that 80% of graduating seniors wont make it through the second year.
We need to reach out to these students and show them the Value of technical or vocational education
And if they work smart and hard the rewards are limitless. $$$$$$$

8. How did we get here / cause and effect
Baby Boomers are retiring in unprecedented numbers. The generations that followed the baby boom were smaller so the sheer number of workers available is smaller, and those remaining may not currently have sufficient literacy or communications skills that will allow them to enter a craft.
Employers tell us that they are seeking candidates with experience. This creates two issues: First, technology and the world of work change so rapidly that it is difficult to find employees with experience in emerging technologies and work practices. Second, if educational institutions, employers, and individuals aren’t keeping up with these changes, the workforce will be left behind.

9. How did we get here / cause and effect
It isn’t just individual organizations or sectors that feel the consequences of the skills gap: Communities, Regions, and States pay a heavy price for not being able to equip workers with the right skills for critical jobs
Schools tend to fund programs because they appear to be an emerging technology, The “If you build it they will come” theory. This often producing graduates with skills sets that aren’t regionally in demand. Completely overlooking the basic technologies and trades that are “critical in todays society”.

10. How did we get here / cause and effect
Finally, there may be “infrastructure” issues contributing to the mismatch. Many potential employees struggle with issues such as transportation and affordable child care. Others might not live where the jobs are and can’t afford or are unwilling to relocate. All of this, when combined with an institutional push for no child to be left behind, and a degree for every child, Leaves us with this Skills Gap.

11. Question and answer break
How many of you flew here?

12. Question and answer break
How many of you drove here?

13. Question and answer break
How many of you have been downstairs to the Casino?

14. Question and answer break
How many of you own a home?

15. Question and answer break
How many of you work
in a school?

16. Question and answer break
How many of you work for industry?

17. Question and answer break
How many of you purchase Gasoline?

18. Question and answer break
What do they all have in common?
They all require Hands on Technically Trained Trades People to maintain them.

19. Question and answer break
What do all these have in common?
They are all Heated and Air Conditioned

20. Overview of employment opportunities
Where’s the Gap going to be?
Middle- and High-skill jobs comprise the largest gaps.
The term Middle skills describe highly specialized mechanical, technical, and production careers that may require industry or government certification but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree.
Growing middle-skills industries such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare are facing the most significant skills shortages.

21. Overview of employment opportunities
BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics) projects that nearly half (about 45 percent) of all job openings between 2004 and 2014 will be in middle-skill occupations.
Most of the new jobs will require technical training with some sort of credentials or certification.
The dirty little secret is that the bulk of ALL NEW jobs are in the Skilled Crafts & Trades (HVAC Mechanical & Electrical).

22. Overview of employment opportunities
According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics), 20% of all jobs require a Bachelor's degree or higher.
If we do the math, that means that 80% of all jobs don’t require that degree
The interesting figure is that 67% of all jobs require some kind of post secondary training preferably with credentials (Industrial Association or Government certification) usually offered by a third party or industry itself.
This is where we come in: Trade / Vocational Schools, Technical, Community and Private colleges

23. Overview of employment opportunities
DOL (Department of Labor) reports that middle-skill jobs will represent 43% of the job market by 2014; this compares to 25% High-Skill jobs (Bachelor's degree or greater) and 32% Low-Skill jobs.
These jobs require more than a high school education but less than a 4-year Bachelor's degree. Education and training may include a 2- year associate's degree, certification, occupational licensing, or apprenticeships. Some examples of middle-skill occupations are electrician, CNC machinists, Process Techs, HVAC Installers, and Industrial Mechanics.

24. Occupational groups: replacement needs and employment growth
Overview of employment opportunities
Occupational groups: replacement needs and employment growth
Projected Growth for
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

25. Projected Percent Increase in Employment 2010-2020
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

26. Overview of employment opportunities
Employment Projections , all Occupations and HVACR Mechanics and Installers
Employment (in thousands)
Employment change,
2010
2020
Number (in thousands)
Percent
Total, all occupations
143,068.2
163,537.1
20,468.9
14.3%
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers
267.8
358.1
90.3
33.7%
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

28. Overview of employment opportunities
According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics), the unemployment rate for the month of March 2014 ranges from 2.6% in North Dakota to 9.2% in Rhode Island.
That’s a national average of almost 7% but those numbers are skewed. It should be around 19% when you count the people who have stopped looking and under-employed.
But the good news is the BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics) says, that nationally the unemployment rate for the HVAC industry is statistically “ZERO”.

29. Not the prom Queen / sexy doesn’t last
One of the biggest requests Hampden Engineering gets, as a training equipment manufacture is, what do you have that we can use to attract students to our HVAC programs? To (set the hook) for those of you who fish.
What we hear is, HVAC just isn’t a Sexy career choice
Here's a NEWS FLASH for you, HVAC is NOT the Prom Queen of occupations, by any stretch of the imagination.
Your hands are going get dirty, its hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and the hours are long, Its just not SEXY…
I am not the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago. But she didn't marry me because I was pretty. At least I don’t think so. If she did she chose poorly..

30. Not the prom Queen / sexy doesn’t last
I don’t think I’m busting anyone's bubble here, by saying SEXY DOESN’T LAST….. “I’m a perfect example”
I am not the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago. But she didn't marry me because I was pretty. At least I don’t think so. If she did she chose poorly.. And when you choose poorly with a career it can be very costly.
I remember a time when we were all going to be computer programmers. (back then it meant punching holes in cards)
Then we were going to make semi-conductors, then electronics technicians, then computer repair, then wind technicians, video gamers, now app designers.
I am not the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago. But she didn't marry me because I was pretty. At least I don’t think so. If she did she chose poorly.. And wen you choose poorly with a career it can be very costly

31. Not the prom Queen / sexy doesn’t last
During this march of time and so called sexy careers, the basic trades (HVAC, Mechanical, Electrical, Construction) have always been there, Just Overlooked!
Unfortunately NOW there looked at as some kind of educational consolation prize. And that view is monumentally wrong….
these crafts are now and always have been cutting edge.
And when you look at HVAC, its actually many crafts in one (Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical) its kinda the mother of all crafts…
I am not the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago. But she didn't marry me because I was pretty. At least I don’t think so. If she did she chose poorly..

32. Not the prom Queen / sexy doesn’t last
Lately, all the talk has been of “STEM” (science, engineering, technology & math), stem this stem that.
The federal government says it’s committed to what “they” call STEM programs. And the funding is funneled that way.
Well, here are some STEM facts for you hang on to,
Programs like HVAC and other skilled Crafts deal with Engineering Level Math, Sciences and Technology on a daily basis.

33. Not the prom Queen / sexy doesn’t last
These programs aren’t advertised this way, but students are educated and trained in the practical application of engineering disciplines.
Areas like Fluid Flow, Heat & Mass Transfer, Thermal Dynamics to mention a few.
Then there is the “Math”: Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus. And don’t forget the Physics…
So I think that STEM is a very big part of these crafts and its time to let everyone know it. Don’t you?

34. Question and answer break
What do these things have in common?
Supermarkets / Convince Stores
Hospitals / Nursing Homes
Airplanes / Cruise Ships
Food Processing Plants
Railroad Cars
You Guessed it…..
They all require Air Conditioning, Heating or Refrigeration

35. Pop Quiz By show of hands
Who knows what’s going on here
Correct Answer
It’s a Blower Door Pressure Test

36. Pop Quiz By show of hands
When was the first air conditioner used? 1902 Who invented it? Willis Carrier

37. Teach a man to fish / Self Confidence
When it comes to learning a trade, whether vocational or technical, I can only speak for myself. I will proudly defend my vocational education. “It was a GIFT” It has given me the knowledge, tools and self-confidence to succeed in life. At the very least, knowing that I will only be unemployed if I WANT to be. At its best knowing that my work has value, in fact all work has value. When you teach a man to fish, he can provide for himself, his family, his community. In that, there is no greater satisfaction…

38. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
OK, so what have we learned here today?
"I” am supremely self confident. (and will never be unemployed)
That I am no longer the Pretty Boy Toy my wife married 25 years ago… Confident yes… Pretty NO…
But I still produce..

39. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
80% of all jobs do not require a Degree.
That traditional Trades will never be out of style.
That guidance counselor are not necessarily our friends and need to be Educated on the Value of Skilled Trades.
We need to look at the value we place on the service trades.
We need to form strong alliances with local and national industries.
We need to get then involved on advisory committees and listen to what they say and what they're asking for.

40. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
We need to keep workforce training, modular, short and layered, with stackable credentials and a pathway to a Degree if they wish to pursue it..
Weather its workforce or the credit side, Our Job is to produce a product that is valued and needed by the Community (as in Community College), and if “WE” don’t pay attention to the basic critical needs of the community, We all will suffer the consequences of this Skills Gap.

41. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
So as I close I would like to point out few things about the
Skills Gap
Even with record unemployment, employers are looking for help. The right help with the right skills.
The Skilled Trades will have the one of the highest growth rates when it comes to new jobs. In fact all jobs
That these jobs Cannot be Outsourced or shipped overseas. “They are Live, Local and Well Paid”

42. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
In closing I’d like you all to remember this quote from a man that had over 300 Dirty Jobs.
“There is nothing more important to our country than Skilled Labor.
Not all knowledge comes from college, but Skill is a matter of degree.” Mike Rowe

43. Solutions for a Solid Life long career
If we can’t fill this Skills Gap, this could be the Technology in our future.

44. Filling the Skills gap Employment Outlook and Implications for HVAC&R
Hampden Engineering
Keith Avery
I sincerely thank you for your attention
If there are any questions, see us in the Hampden Engineering Booth