Content area
Full Text
With 15% of refrigeration techs leaving the field each year, NASRC is working to close the gap
Why is there a shortage of refrigeration technicians? Why do they leave the field? How can the industry encourage people to make a career in commercial refrigeration? These were all questions that were asked during the Food Marketing Institute's (FMI's) Energy & Store Development Conference, held last fall in Orlando, Florida.
In a session hosted by the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), Danielle Wright, executive director of the organization, and Doug Milu, refrigeration and energy program manager at Publix supermarkets, discussed the ongoing technician shortage problem and urged the HVACR industry to come together to address the issue.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
The HVACR industry has had a shortage of technicians for years, but there is a particular lack of skilled technicians who work on commercial refrigeration equipment in supermarkets, convenience stores, and the like. And it's getting worse. According to Milu, about 15% of refrigeration technicians are leaving the field every year, and only 6% are coming into the industry.
"At some point, that delta is going to be so great, nobody's going to be able to work on these systems," he said. "And in transitioning to natural refrigerants, systems are not getting less complex. They have more controls and valves, the components are different, and control strategies are much different than the systems that we worked on of yesteryear. We need to figure out how to close this gap."
Since a robust workforce will be necessary to help supermarkets transition to natural and low-GWP refrigerants, NASRC established a workforce development initiative to examine the issue. The organization surveyed large service contractors, retailers with in-house technicians, trade school directors and faculty, and service technicians and contractors to find out how to recruit more people to join the industry and how to retain those already here.
In the survey, NASRC asked participants to list some of the advantages of working as a commercial refrigeration technicians. About 85% of respondents said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their career, and advantages included job security, recession proof, geographic flexibility, low to no debt, satisfaction of ensuring the food supply,...