American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE): A Better Workforce Takes Connecting With Communities

Spotlight Sponsored by: C&W Engineering, Inc.

By John Contstantinide, PE, ASHRAE Region XII Director and Regional Chair

At the start of the Society Year 2024-2025, Society President Dennis Knight, P.E., talks about the importance of workforce development, featured in the August 2024 issue of the ASHRAE Journal.

The solutions he offers in his presidential address require community connections, but his story of how he entered –or, more accurately, was recruited into – the workforce is a testament to the value of community outreach.

It All Started In High School

Society President Knight recounts the start of his journey into the building industry at the beginning of his address:

“My journey in the building industry began just two weeks after I graduated from high school. I stepped into the workforce, ready to learn and contribute. My brand new job title was ‘power plant piping systems designer.’ That’s a fancy way of saying ‘draftsperson.’ An engineer named Fred Howard, who visited my high school drafting class, offered me the position in my junior year when I was just 16.

“Why would the largest power company in the U.S. that designed, built, owned and operated some of the biggest power plants in the world talk to a 16-year-old kid about employment? The answer is simple: workforce development! They invested in and were committed to attracting and retaining people who would do the necessary work to advance their business goals. By starting at the high school level, they were casting a wider net, accessing a larger pool of employment candidates and including students on traditional and nontraditional tracks to higher education and career development."

This story talks about more than an effective recruitment tactic. It speaks of the importance of companies connecting with communities, providing economic opportunities and seeking ways to perpetuate the company’s growth, thus investing in the future of the industry. To this day, companies continue to connect with communities at high schools, technical schools, colleges and universities to develop workforce and professionals.

So, why is workforce development an issue in the engineering industry today?

“Senior building engineers and building scientists bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our industry — but we are aging out of the workforce. Unfortunately, not enough younger people are interested in pursuing this essential career path.”

Now Is Our Time To Impact The Future Of Engineering

As engineers, we see problems as opportunities for solutions. In this case, the engineering industry has the opportunity to shape its future, starting with connections to community. Younger generations need to know that engineering is not only a possible career field, but a lucrative one.

As Society President Knight points out, “We need to highlight our industry in a way that celebrates the ideas and innovations that emerge when we embrace and encourage greater diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Here is how ASHRAE is connecting with communities to address workforce development:

• Educating About Industry Role and Contributions: ASHRAE will invest more in educating the public, especially career-seekers, about the benefits of a career in engineering. Whether at primary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, or through novel means such as billboards and QR codes, our Society will spread the word at the community level about the importance of the engineering industry, particularly with the built environment.

• Place More Value and Emphasis on Professional Development: ASHRAE will invest more in individual and collective professional development, particularly in response to the growth of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and building integration modeling (BIM). This increased emphasis will be communicated in professional and educational communities to advance the engineering industry.

• Industry Summits: ASHRAE will continue to build relationships in the private and public sectors through industry summits and roundtables. As much as outreach to local communities are important, industry communities need to be fostered to exchange ideas and discuss pathways for workforce development.

• Endowed Scholarships: ASHRAE will invest in creating endowed scholarships to support professional development opportunities for young engineers to keep them engaged in the engineering industry. Outreach to communities of younger generations will help reinforce that the engineering industry is about investing in its future.

Connecting with Communities...One Conversation at a Time

Society President Knight concludes in his address the importance of individual community connection through conversation:

“In her book Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott writes, ‘Our lives succeed or fail, gradually then suddenly, one conversation at a time. And while no single conversation is guaranteed to change a life, a marriage [an industry, the world] it can. The conversation is the relationship.’ Let’s start these conversations. Let’s build these relationships.

“Let’s tell our stories. Please share them with students, colleagues, employees, potential ASHRAE members, even family and friends. Tell them why this industry is a place that has role models, mentors and collaborators that you want to work with and aspire to be like.”

Both at a large scale and with each of its members, ASHRAE is ready to connect with communities to address our engineering industry’s workforce development needs. Join us in sustaining a robust, respectable profession.