How NC3 Signing Day and Advanced Certification Programs are Helping the Next Generation of HVACR Tradespeople

When a college sports fanatic hears the words “signing day,” they envision tables piled with hats from hopeful colleges, friends and family members rejoicing and a ton of media fanfare focused on the country’s biggest high school prospects. While our future professional tradespeople don’t garner the same national adoration as college athletes, their decision to enter the trades and eventual positive contributions to society are well-worth celebrating. This is the impetus behind the National Coalition of Certification Centers’ (NC3) annual signing day ceremony.

On April 20, 2023, high school students, parents, instructors, administration, counselors, industry partners, potential employers, local and government officials and local media joined together at participating NC3 Leadership Schools to watch students commit to their future technical program and sign a letter of commitment to attend their school of choice after high school. It’s no secret that tradespeople are undervalued in this country, but what is perhaps less well known is just how dire the situation is when it comes to the skills gap in the HVACR trades. According to one article, there are already approximately 110,000 unfilled HVAC technician jobs. Additionally, the industry can expect to lose 23,000 more jobs each year, which means in five years the industry will be 225,000 technicians short of what today’s demand calls for.

 These are sobering numbers, and while the industry can only do so much to change the broader perceptions and stigmas of the trades, manufacturers and organizations like NC3 are offering a number of training and certification opportunities so that interested students have the chance to not just be laborers, but also advance themselves toward more lucrative careers as professionals. NC3 was established to help build and prepare a workforce to meet the needs of industries by connecting employers and educational institutions. In this blog, learn about the Copeland brand’s partnership with NC3 and some of the programs we offer to help grow and advance the HVACR industry.

 A strong partnership for supporting training and preparing technicians for the future

In September 2022, to help support the training and development of the next generation of skilled tradespeople, we announced that the Copeland brand is partnering with NC3. These synergistic partnerships foster effective training, elevation of skilled careers and employment opportunities. NC3 builds deep industry-educational partnerships. They develop, implement and sustain industry-recognized portable certifications built on national skills standards.

 Keeping technicians prepared for today’s biggest service and business challenges

The Copeland brand provides additional training support through its Educational Services team, with options such as virtual classrooms, onsite training, eCourses and a training center. Through its partnership with NC3, the Copeland brand offers a broad range of certification programs for students, with topics including HVACR system fundamentals, system troubleshooting, compressor operation and maintenance and more.

 The Copeland brand also recently launched its HVACR Educator Resource platform designed to provide industry educators with access to tools, training and educational materials to enhance learning for the next generation of HVACR professionals. Within the HVACR Educator Resource site, there is a wide range of educational features including a Copeland™ scroll compressor training kit. This kit offers a detailed look inside a scroll compressor, through a disassembled model from a state-of-the-art lab, offering a hands-on approach to learning the fundamentals of compression technology. The kit includes custom safety equipment, supplemental learning materials and interactive digital content to provide a comprehensive educational experience.

 As part of the NC3 partnership, the Copeland brand recently participated in NC3’s Train-the-Trainer summit, held at Gateway Technical College. The NC3 Train-the-Trainer events are opportunities for industry technical experts to provide hands-on training to community, technical college and high school instructors. Stay tuned for a future blog in which we recap this summer’s upcoming Train-the-Trainer event. To learn more about how the Copeland brand can help support the HVACR pros, visit the HVACR Educator Resource site.