How do you do your training?

when the A2L transition was big news we had a very successful period of training. It was nice to have a subject everyone was interested in, it directly impacted their "day-to-day" I don't think I had to call anyone to remind them of the events.

Hydronics focused events are more difficult for me, which is weird because I know the subject matter much better. The knowledge level of techs is all over the place I've found, overall classes aren't as receptive to hydronic subjects like piping, sizing, design, controls etc. Mostly hydro focused classes revolve around unit maintenance so we do boiler startups and maintenance, tear downs etc

In wholesale its a fight to keep the sales pitch away… We had a big event that I had no part in coordinating for one of our primary lines, we did events in multiple locations, all of our biggest customers were invited, it was training they had been asking for… or at least it was supposed to be. It ended up being about 30 minutes on how to wire the units (I could go in depth but this info was new and actually presented incorrectly) and then it was 6 hours of other speakers covering federal tax incentives! Home warranty programs! Financing, my goodness the financing! I was horrified and spent the next weeks trying to recover lost reputation. Please do not ever bring real techs to a room to teach them about financing and 3rd party warranty, if you find yourself teaching a group of techs and you are doing taxes on a projector screen please see yourself to the door.

For training in a traditional setting I prefer to go to a contractor's location when they have enough staff and somewhere to have everyone. I like to put the techs with the home field advantage so to speak, and I am asking less of them to just let me in the door for an hour or two in the morning, nobody has to drive out of the way it's nice. I think most manufacturers like to book venues and that's fine, I'd prefer my own building over the venues if not for parking concerns (affects counter sales)

I've found the most consistent training happens working with contractors every day, not necessarily in a classroom setting but dealing with daily issues, job design, etc. I know things they don't know, they know things I don't know. Partnerships built between manufacturers, distributors, designers, and contractors are really special when they are genuine. Our forced air line is probably the best at this

A multi prong approach, as you are doing. Education involves:

Magazine articles, publishing books, live seminars, and various online methods. You Tube is a good place to maintain a webinar library

We have 3 main targets, Engineers/ Designers, Wholesalers, and Contractors. They have different wants and needs, so customize the training to their expectations.

Durning covid training was mainly online. In some cases hybrid where a local dealer or rep hosted a small group and the trainer was remote on the big screen.

We have a site where our reps and dealers can see all the trainers schedule, updated daily, They can pick the dates and schedule the type of training and they want.

ASHRAE, ASPE and other organizations are always looking for speakers for their monthly meetings.

Union training centers also look for training. You would be a good trainer at the Steamfitters 449 in western PA. They have a great facility with many live and hands on demos. Get a hold of Brad Tisdale at their site for some info.

At Caleffi we match the presentation to the group and audience and it is not unusual for Associations or Union trainings to be generic.

Monthly webinars and the popular Idronics keep the information and topics current and relevant.

Bring a bag of breakfast burritos for morning trainings at shops or wholesalers, that usually fills the seats, and the group tends to be more alert at the beginning of the day. Many companies pay for their staff to attend the trainings, so they have some skin in the game to get a good attendance. Keep early day trainings short, 60 minutes is reasonable.

There are a lot of companies trying to get in front of the customers, so you need a unique or compelling story or training topic to get on the "list"