Comfortable Partnership
Johnson Controls Expands Pipeline to
HVAC Jobs

Like many large employers, Johnson Controls, Inc. is worried about the impending outflow of skilled workers as the baby boom generation retires. The company, based in Glendale, is a global market leader in automotive systems and facility management and control. It services more than 26,000 miles of heating and cooling ductwork around the world, and for that it needs skilled technicians thoroughly versed in its latest energy technologies.

Johnson Controls could have opted to deliver its own “aftermarket” training to tech school graduates. Instead, it made a bold move to attack the problem at the very start of the jobs pipeline: in the classroom.

Through a new venture called CAREERCONNECT, the company is investing $200,000 to add a Johnson Controls emphasis to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning curriculum taught at Milwaukee Area Technical College and three other schools around the country. Each will receive $50,000 for new equipment and materials and instructor training. The HVAC lab at the MATC Oak Creek Campus, 6665 S. Howell Ave., will undergo some major upgrades. 

“The program will not be aligned exclusively with Johnson Controls, but it will now acquire a strong Johnson Controls component,” said James Eden, MATC associate dean of technology and applied sciences. “Basically, from the company’s standpoint, this puts the seal of approval on our

graduates. The company can be assured that our graduates will be up to speed on their latest equipment, and we expect Johnson Controls to pick the cream of the crop of our graduates.” Tom Healy, a Milwaukee branch manager for Johnson Controls, said the company had reached the conclusion that recruitment alone would not develop the desired talent level among new graduates. More needed to be done. “Students who graduate from MATC or other colleges with the CAREERCONNECT program will be among the best candidates the industry has to offer,” Healy said.

“This is all about building the next generation of our workforce,” said Shannon Lippold, the Johnson Controls marketing manager in charge of CAREERCONNECT.

A Sense of Urgency

In building that next generation of workers, Johnson Controls feels some urgency because the baby boomers already are beginning to retire. “We are already seeing a shortage of skilled people out there,” said Eric Reisner, vice president and general manager for Johnson Controls’ North American building controls group. This is happening at a time when employment in the group recently has been increasing at a rate of 10 to 20 percent per year, Reisner added.

Eden cited another factor – fewer tech classes in middle schools and high schools. “It’s being driven by budget cuts and a philosophical shift toward emphasizing bachelor’s degrees. At the same time the boomers are due to retire, fewer and fewer young people are being exposed to the possibilities of technical careers. There’s declining interest, which is unfortunate because the job growth in the next ten years will be in technical fields. These are well-paying careers with solid futures.”

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, HVAC techs in the Milwaukee area earn an average wage of about $22 per hour. The work involves installing and maintaining heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Knowledge of electronics, plumbing, technical math, mechanical drawing, blueprint reading, applied physics and chemistry is required.

Patterned After Auto Programs

The Johnson Controls CAREERCONNECT program bears similarities to two existing automotive programs at MATC. MATC has agreements to train entry-level technicians for Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler Corp., as part of which the companies donate vehicles and tools and train instructors. Graduates progress to jobs with the sponsoring dealership. "This is slightly different from CAREERCONNECT,” Eden said. “When you graduate from the HVAC program, you won’t necessarily go to work for Johnson Controls, but it will be readily possible, for those who want the option.”

The other three colleges selected to participate in CAREERCONNECT are Greenville Technical College, Greenville, S.C.; Bishop State Community College, Mobile, Ala.; and Dunwoody College of Technology, Minneapolis, Minn. They and MATC were chosen in part based on the diversity of their student populations.  “Johnson Controls is committed to having its front-line workers reflect the diversity of the communities they serve,” Lippold said. “And we want to create a more diverse worker pool for future leadership development.”

For more information about Johnson Controls, Inc., visit the company’s Web site at www.johnsoncontrols.com.

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