HVAC Technician Training: How to Develop Valuable Employees

For service companies, the HVAC technician training you provide can make all the difference, not only in the level of service you provide and revenue you generate, but also in how long your employees will stay with you. 

When you hire an entry-level technician, especially one with limited experience, it’s always a risk. Will they become the valuable asset to your company that you want and need, or will they be someone you can’t trust to do quality work? And will your investment in training them be rewarded with years of loyal service, or not?

Of course there are factors you can’t control, but much of that risk IS in your control. How you train your employees is an important factor.  

So how can you develop an HVAC technician training program that helps your company AND your technicians achieve their goals? 

Start by hiring the right candidates

Training is an uphill battle if a technician doesn’t have what it takes to succeed. So when you’re evaluating entry-level technician candidates, look for the following skills and qualities that are good predictors of long term success:

Prioritize will over skill.  Someone who may lack experience but is self-motivated and interested in learning is more likely to succeed than someone who is more experienced but lazy. 

Technical aptitude.  Many young people today haven’t had the opportunity to learn to use tools or develop mechanical skills. However, an aptitude for and experience with technology is probably more important for the future of the industry.

Commitment.  If a candidate hasn’t spent years going to school to prepare for a career, there’s always a chance that they don’t understand what they are getting into and won’t last as an HVAC technician. It’s smart to look for evidence that they truly understand what the job entails and are not just “trying it out.”

Learn more: How to Hire the Best HVAC Employees

Improve technician success with online training platforms

HVAC technician training sometimes suffers because it’s so time consuming for companies to develop and deliver. And even more difficult to keep up to date. 

Not only that, but the traditional classroom training model has a lot of disadvantages:

• It’s difficult to bring your whole team in for training at the same time. 
• Classroom training can’t be tailored to the individual needs of each technician.
• Even if technicians do well on post-training assessments, they often don’t retail what they learn. 

Online training platforms developed specifically for the skilled trades can help HVAC service companies deliver more effective training and build a more qualified workforce. Platforms such as Interplay Learning provide a variety of on-demand video courses and 3D simulations on many different types of equipment and diagnostic scenarios. 

Benefits of online platforms for HVAC technician training

Measure each technician’s knowledge level. With an online learning platform, you can start by testing each of your technicians to determine exactly where they excel and where they need more training.

Build a customized curriculum for each person based on where they are. That means even your most experienced technicians can use the platform to keep their skills current and stay relevant throughout their career.

Technicians can repeat lessons anytime they need them to refresh their knowledge.

Large catalog of material. An online learning platform can provide a larger variety of training material than almost any company could create on their own.

Gain confidence in your technician’s abilities. You’ll be able to see exactly what each technician is qualified to do and be able to assign work accordingly.

Provide a familiar platform for learning. Let’s face it, today’s young people are accustomed to learning online, especially in the last couple of years, and prefer learning that way.

Measure effort as well as progress.  Online platforms show you more than what a technician has learned. You can see how much effort they are putting in. Supervisors can monitor what technicians are doing in the platform and provide feedback. That can help to establish accountability. You can also use that information to boost motivation by sharing how their progress and/or effort compares with others on the team.

Teach more than technical skills

To succeed in this industry, technicians need much more than diagnostic and repair skills. 

Don’t overlook training new technicians on your own processes, procedures, and company culture. Don’t expect them to learn that by watching others.

And lastly, make sure your HVAC technician training program covers other important skills technicians need, such as:

• Communication with customers and coworkers
• Customer service 
• Time management
• Problem-solving techniques

In fact, we have some excellent resources on these topics right here on our blog and our YouTube channel. Feel free to share these resources with your staff as needed.

HVACR Career Connect NY was created to promote the exceptional quality-of-life benefits of a career in HVAC and Refrigeration service, and also to provide a clear path for getting started in the profession. In doing so, we serve as a resource for employers in the New York City metro area to find and hire smart and capable new technicians. We also serve as an educational resource to support business growth and to help service technicians succeed in their chosen profession.