Brandi Ferenc and Shawna Peddle join us in discussion about their careers as HVAC mechanics.  Brandi has a vast experience and teaches HVAC courses at Georgian College.  Shawna is a graduate of said program and is completing her apprenticeship.  Their stories are uplifting and inspirational.

Have you ever looked up HVAC in Wikipedia? It is a boring read! We want to put HVAC in a sexy and attractive light. David Kobayashi discusses career and ideas in HVAC and building automation. Can we have an HVAC reality TV show? What do you think?

Careers can be unpredictable.  What is the recipe of future proofing a career?  Chris and Sam talk with Morten Rapp, who entered the HVAC field after leaving the university, turned into a contractor.  His search for Gas Technician graduates propelled him into teaching at Georgian college.  Now he is conquering the heights of online teaching.  Listen to a fascinating tale of an entrepreneur.

After a year, COVID-19 is still the topic of the day, unfortunately.  We are learning about the virus and its disease.  Government policies from travel bans to financial assistance to vaccine wars are commonplace.  What if we had an affordable and highly effective technology that would kill COVID and other airborne pathogens?  Would you use it in your home and workplace?  It turns out that we do have a readily available technology that does exactly that.  Their website states: “Founded in 1995, SANUVOX Technologies mission has been to design a line of residential and commercial UV air and surface disinfection units that reproduce the natural purification process of the sun in the upper atmosphere.”Ray Gatt, VP Sales, Ontario & Manitoba tells us all about the UV light technology and how it is used in fighting COVID-19 in schools, hospitals, and other surprising fields.

The general and steady direction of running buildings as efficiently as possible is reflected in exceedingly advanced Building Automation Systems (BAS) implemented in new construction.  A look at the recently constructed government buildings will yield unequivocal proofs of this claim.  While BAS manufacturers are multiplying in numbers and multitudes of technological advances, both the workforce and formal education institutions are critically lacking the speed and expertise to provide individuals with the skills to design, install, service, and maintain the said BAS.  This is partly due to the proprietary nature of the technology, and partly, to the multidisciplinary nature of the needed training – BAS is an amalgamation of HVAC, lighting, access control, and all other functions that take place in a building.  Gerry Cellucci from Yorkland Controls sheds light on where BAS came from and where it is going.

HVAC is a perfect example of converting knowledge and skills into income.  But there is so much out there to learn.  How would one know what knowledge and skills are beneficial?  The challenge is to obtain the right training in a meaningful path, rather than just more training in no particular order.  After all, formal education is based on structured learning rather than random learning.  Trevor Matthews from Emerson tells us about effective training paths HVAC mechanics can take to maximize time and effort.

Who designs the mechanical systems that provide heating and cooling in houses and other buildings?  What credentials are required to be a certified HVAC designer?  Where can you receive such training?  What are the available courses and certifications?  Are there designations?  Tom Cates from Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) tells us all about HVAC design present and future.

Service quality is not easy to measure.  We interview Marshalette McTyson, who is the Quality & Training Coordinator at Ainsworth Inc., a major HVAC contractor in Toronto.  What does it take to achieve customer satisfaction?  How does a large HVAC company comply with all customer requirements?  How much paperwork is too much?  What professional development options do companies and HVAC workers have?  Is COVID-19 effect on work protocols here to stay?  These and many other questions are answered by Marshalette.

People are thrust into online learning. Teachers who never taught online are asked to teach online.  Students who never thought about taking online courses must take their courses online.  What did we learn from this shift?  Is the move to online learning temporary?  Are schools going to keep offering their courses online after the pandemic is over?  And so many other points are discussed by Chris and Sam, who are full time faculty at an Ontario College.

Losing employment is easier than finding one, even in HVAC.  With high demand for workers in HVAC, why finding a job is not as straighforward and easy as we would like it to be?  What are the secrets of having your foot in the door?  What are employers looking for?  How can you present yourself and what assets are critical?  You might be surprised to hear what our guest has to say.  Jason Murray is a long time owner and operations manager of Murray Mechanical Systems, a well respected and sizable HVAC company in Barrie, Ontario.  Would you be qualified to be hired by Murray?  Listen and find out.