Service Experts Career Academy (SECA) is partnering with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) to offer a debt-free path to a lifelong career as an HVAC technician or plumber. The SECA program is training dozens of apprentices across the country to meet the growing demand for HVAC technicians and plumbers. According to Read more
education
Service Experts Career Academy (SECA) is partnering with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) to offer a debt-free path to a lifelong career as an HVAC technician or plumber. The SECA program is training dozens of apprentices across the country to meet the growing demand for HVAC technicians and plumbers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 401,100 job openings for HVAC technicians are expected every year for the next decade. After a positive response to the HVAC training program, SECA and NCCER will also train aspiring plumbers beginning January 2023.
Service Experts welcomes any applicants interested in starting their professional careers debt-free. While trade schools, four-year colleges, associates degrees and other hands-on training programs can cost $7,000 or more annually, SECA pays HVAC apprentices throughout all four years of the training program, while giving them virtual, hands-on and ride along learning opportunities.
“We are opening our doors to anyone interested in taking that first step,” says Tom Essing, a SECA technical trainer in Michigan. “Whether you have prior experience or are a fresh mind with no experience at all, we want good, quality people who are enthusiastic about learning and are looking for a fulfilling career.”
“The construction and maintenance workforces are aging and it’s important we recruit and train the next generation of craft professions,” said NCCER President and CEO Boyd Worsham. “It will take all of us working together to make a real impact on the industry as we strive to fill the skills gap.”
In a traditionally male-dominated field, SECA is making strides by reaching out to women who might be interested in HVAC technician training. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women only make up 1.5 percent of HVAC professionals and 2.1 percent of plumbers in 2021; however, nine percent of students in SECA are women.
“I’ve always had trouble finding a job that I could grow in. Thankfully the apprenticeship program has allowed me to do just that and get my certification in HVAC,” said Kailey Scott, a current apprentice in SECA. “In this field there are no limits, and I’m more than excited to exceed beyond my limits thanks to this program.”
“When I started working in HVAC, it was a male-dominated field, and now it’s changing to be more diverse,” says Essing. “It’s positive to see this shift and we look forward to continuing to support anyone interested in the HVAC field.”
In addition to paying apprentices, SECA offers a comprehensive employment benefits package made to support each student and their families on day one of their training. According to Essing, SECA wants to attract recruits away from other jobs by offering them the rounded benefits of a career, including two weeks of paid time off, a 401(k) plan with company matching and health insurance programs. Students also get a $1,000 tool kit with hand tools, gauges, electric beaters and more that is theirs when they complete the program. SECA graduates can also take advantage of Service Experts locations spread across the country. Service Experts serves over 90 locations across America, and certified program graduates have the opportunity to work with any Service Experts location, from San Francisco to Miami.
The pay, opportunities and benefits aren’t the only way that SECA accommodates aspiring HVAC technicians.
“Going virtual has helped get everyone together, all at the same time,” says Ken Benedetto, a SECA technical trainer in New York. “Having virtual class in the morning has been a huge benefit, students are ready to learn before they start their day.”
After completing their SECA training and earning their NCCER credentials, program graduates can earn more than many fields that require a four-year college degree, without having to navigate their lives around repaying expensive school loans.
“If you are looking for a career that will support you for your entire lifetime and give you four years of schooling without debt, jumpstart your future with Service Experts Career Academy,” said Jim Hughes, SECA director.
Optimal heating system design combines best practices on both sides of the flange. Designing, installing and maintaining perfect loops ensures that we deliver superior comfort, energy efficiency and reliability to our customers. Back by popular demand, Max Rohr welcomes Grundfos industry expert Brent Cunningham from The Perfect Loop training series to discuss hydronic heating systems Read more
Optimal heating system design combines best practices on both sides of the flange. Designing, installing and maintaining perfect loops ensures that we deliver superior comfort, energy efficiency and reliability to our customers. Back by popular demand, Max Rohr welcomes Grundfos industry expert Brent Cunningham from The Perfect Loop training series to discuss hydronic heating systems at the next Coffee with Caleffi™ webinar on Thursday, Oct. 20 in an extended edition from 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. CDT.
Cunningham is Grundfos HVAC OEM Business Development Manager serving as a sales engineer in the commercial and OEM business units. He enjoys cycling, running, skiing and other outdoor activities.
Rohr is Caleffi Education and Industry Engagement Manager leading industry connections with trade associations, committees, industry initiatives and collaborative manufacturer partners. He describes himself as an “energy nerd.”
The monthly educational webinars are free and are intended for engineers, contractors, designers and wholesalers. A Certificate of Attendance is emailed to attendees following the event for continuing education audits.
Please visit our website at www.caleffi.us for schedule details or register here today.
A small plumbing business in the local area is an excellent livelihood. Not only is it a lucrative business – people always require plumbing services – but you can take on apprentices and grow your brand into an established player. Use the tips in this article to start out in the right direction. Understand the Read more
A small plumbing business in the local area is an excellent livelihood. Not only is it a lucrative business – people always require plumbing services – but you can take on apprentices and grow your brand into an established player. Use the tips in this article to start out in the right direction.
Understand the Niche
Plumbing services are wide-ranging, but the majority of plumbing companies offer uniform services, things such as pipe repair and drain cleaning. If you want to operate a successful plumbing business, you need to offer these basic services, but you also need more diversity.
Understanding your niche means knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the competition and taking advantage of gaps in their services. Look for ways you can offer customized services to set you apart from the competition, but don’t forget about your bread and butter services, either.
Training and Experience
If you are thinking of starting a plumbing business, chances are you have some training and experience already, perhaps you have a four-year apprenticeship under your belt, and it’s time to start your own brand. If you don’t have this, you need to start your training and experience.
Plumbing is a complex profession that requires industry knowledge and years of experience to offer high-quality services. For this reason, plumbers enjoy a lucrative livelihood, but it’s built on years of training. Even after you start a business, it’s still sensible to learn and develop skills.
Make it Legal
It’s not possible to start a plumbing business without the correct documents for your state. Most states require you to have a plumbing license, a contractor’s license, and a plumbing permit, but it’s worth checking the legal requirements for particular regions. Make it legal and avoid issues.
Once your plumbing business has the correct documents, you can start trading, but without them, you will be operating illegally and might incur fines or run into other legal issues. Plumbing is a professional service, not a freelance one, so ensure you have the papers to practice legally.
Business Plan
A business plan is a document that contains the current finances of your business and future projections if you need a butler building. Many newer plumbing businesses mistake the business plan for a rough document, but it’s much more and needed for loans and investments.
If you are unsure about where to start with a business plan, don’t worry. Although it is a key feature of a new business, there are services available to help you create one that works. No matter what direction you want for your business, a tailored business plan can be created.
Business Website
Don’t forget about a business website. A business website for a plumbing business is paramount because it gives you an online presence and hub for customers to find you and book your services. Not only that, a business website gives you the opportunity for digital marketing.
Digital marketing helps prospects and customers to find your business on search engines. Around 46% of all search queries are for local services, so make sure you have the right keywords for your business and high-quality on-site articles to turn prospects to conversions.
Business Promotion
Now that you have your business logo and website and you have the skills and experience to deliver a high-quality service to customers in the local area, it’s time to get your name out there. Business promotion is important, and it can be done using business cards and merchandise.
Business cards are a little outdated nowadays, but they are still useful for plumbing services. Whether you hand them to clients or put them in the local stores, a plumbing business card is a convenient resource. Also, consider building your brand in the local area with merchandise.
Effective Marketing
Some small businesses think that digital marketing is not for them, but the opposite is the case. In fact, the major search engines have created the perfect ecosystems for small businesses to connect with target customers and thrive. Make sure you are making the most of the services.
Effective marketing starts with your website and your keyword research. Since plumbing is a saturated industry, keywords might be hard to use for free, but if you tailor the keyword to your business or area, it makes them free and more targeted. Research content marketing for more information.
Final Thoughts
If you have the skills and experience in the plumbing business and you are ready to strike out on your own, there are plenty of resources available. If you want to be successful, you need a website with effective marketing, but you also need to make sure you have the legal document for your state in place. After that, it’s time to grow your name as a reliable service in the area.
The premier training provider for the service industry equips HVACR instructors and apprentices across the U.S. with the top tech-enablement platform XOi Technologies, a leading provider of technician-focused technology solutions, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States, Canada (UA) announce a partnership that delivers XOi’s Read more
The premier training provider for the service industry equips HVACR instructors and apprentices across the U.S. with the top tech-enablement platform
XOi Technologies, a leading provider of technician-focused technology solutions, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States, Canada (UA) announce a partnership that delivers XOi’s innovative AI-based tech-enablement solution to HVACR instructors and registered service apprentices across the United States.
The UA and XOi announce a partnership that equips HVACR instructors and apprentices across the U.S. with the top tech-enablement platform.
“XOi combines many critical functions for UA instructors and apprentices and other field professionals in a single platform,” said UA training specialist Robert Vilches. “In addition to its streamlined workflows and best-in-class data indexing and analytics, XOi keeps UA apprentices and instructors connected in the field and provides instructors with unrivaled insight into how students perform on the job. And XOi’s first-to-market virtual mentor support extends training from the classroom to the jobsite, so apprentices can continue to learn while they’re in the field.”
XOi’s deep data cataloging capabilities, advanced AI-driven analytics, and intuitive remote support options enhance the value of UA’s training programs, giving the organization resources to help contractors close the skilled labor gap.
“This partnership is an opportunity to maximize the UA’s proven training programs and to strategically extend XOi’s position as a top innovator in the industry,” said Aaron Salow, founder and CEO of XOi. “By equipping their apprentices and instructors with our powerful solutions, the UA is empowering the next generation of skilled labor talent with in-depth, hands-on education that will help contractors face the continuing labor shortage in the service industry.”
XOi’s advanced cloud-based solution allows field service technicians to utilize, aggregate and analyze critical job data and maximize customer value through industry-leading efficiency, accuracy and accountability. With a full suite of standardized workflows, job documentation capabilities, and technician training and enablement solutions, teams can build deep and easily accessible institutional knowledge bases that support real-time decision-making and data-based continuity. Service teams can apply these extensive data-science capabilities to analyze those foundational elements and strategically respond to evolving data trends and forecasts.
The UA represents 355,000 plumbers, pipefitters, sprinkler fitters, service technicians and welders across North America. The UA offers the premier training programs available in the industry today, including five-year apprenticeship programs, extensive journeyman training, a comprehensive five-year instructor training program, and numerous certification programs. The UA helps signatory contractors grow their market share by identifying new opportunities, providing support, and connecting them to the safest, skilled, and most highly trained workforce in the industry.
For more information about XOi, visit https://xoi.io.
For more information about UA, visit https://ua.org.
Originally instated in 2018, the Try Rinnai Tour is back to visit PROs across the U.S. with educational and training opportunities on new Rinnai products Rinnai America Corporation, a manufacturer of the number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in North America, has revived its Try Rinnai Tour, a US and Canada road show that Read more
Originally instated in 2018, the Try Rinnai Tour is back to visit PROs across the U.S. with educational and training opportunities on new Rinnai products
Rinnai America Corporation, a manufacturer of the number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in North America, has revived its Try Rinnai Tour, a US and Canada road show that connects Rinnai team members with PROs for training and education opportunities. From May through October, Rinnai’s sales team will share the latest technologies with trade professionals, educating them on the benefits of working with and installing Rinnai products to increase profit and grow their business.
“We understand the labor shortage in our country and the difficulty that many PROs have in leaving their market for training and learning about new technologies,” said David Federico, Senior Marketing Director, North America. “With the Try Rinnai Tour, we want to make their jobs easy, so we are taking our products and trainings straight to them.”
The tour was created to help alleviate a PROs’ busy schedule, by bringing training events via van straight to their neighborhoods. Throughout the tour’s duration, it’s estimated 500 local events could take place, allowing Rinnai to potentially interact with up to 20,000 installers. The seven branded vans will be found at distribution locations across the U.S. and Canada, where many PROs already pick up products and supplies. Additionally, the vans are leveraged at contractor locations and other local venues.
The sales team will focus their education and training opportunities on two new product launches for 2022: The RSC Condensing Tankless Water Heater and the RE Series, the first non-condensing water heater to include a built-in recirculation pump. The tour will also detail the new Smart-Circ™ Intelligent Recirculation™ technology, available in both products, which offers many consumer benefits and even an easier installation experience for the PRO.
Rinnai’s brand promise of Creating a healthier way of living is at the forefront of all the company’s efforts. By continuing to educate and train PROs on the latest tankless technologies, Rinnai is aiding in providing homes and commercial buildings with energy-efficient hot water options for cleaner and healthier living.