Faced with an aging workforce and Houston's growing population, experts say there's a demand for the next crop of air conditioner workers. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the industry is expected to grow by nearly 10% over the next decade, which is much faster than others.
Many of those jobs, experts say, will be here in Texas. Federal data shows only two other states have more HVAC workers than Texas.
For metro areas, Houston is in the top 10. Trade skills careers that we discussed in our latest ABC13 Who's Hiring job fair with Workforce Solutions.
"You can go to a local community college or technical college to get these different types of training, but there are also different companies that do the in-house training as well," Workforce Solutions executive director Juliet Stipeche explained.
One of those is Daikin in northwest Harris County, where it's developed courses to upskill workers. This Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., it's hosting an in-person hiring event at its facility off Freeway 290 where the company is looking for 400 workers.
"You can come to Daikin with little to no skills, and we'll train you," Daikin human resources senior vice president Kristi Pittman explained. "If you have a desire and work ethic, you show up every day, we'll help you find your place here."
One of those areas is building air conditioners. Courses that took Kevin Guerra from entry-level employee to trainer.
"I felt like it was a really big benefit," Guerra explained. "A lot of times people realize there's so much you can learn. Never having experience with HVAC and walking into this industry, I felt like I learned a lot."
He's not alone. Damian Castillo has moved up Daikin's ladder thanks to the company's in-house learning opportunities.
"I was drawn into the manufacturing just because of the nature of putting things together step by step and working as a team, but I never thought I was going to be the training manager," Castillo said.
On Thursday, ABC13 is hosting an in-person hiring event as well with Workforce Solutions. It'll take place at San Jacinto College from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at 7901 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX 77507 in the center for petrochemical, energy and technology building.