Hiring and Retaining Qualified Instructors

Hiring qualified instructors is one of the most important roles of a school administrator. When you hire the right people and develop the right team, they make your job easier. However, giving instructors the resources to be successful is equally as important as finding the right person for the position.

Hiring a Qualified HVACR Instructor

The first step in hiring a qualified instructor is hiring someone with the right background. It is essential that they had the benefit of formal HVACR training, so that they understand the physics and theories of HVACR technologies needed for success as an instructor.

The HVAC Excellence standard for employment as an instructor should be used by school administrators in selecting qualified professionals to lead their HVACR programs. These criteria establish the minimum requirements for HVACR educators to ensure HVACR students have access to high-quality training, which ultimately should lead to better employment opportunities.   

HVAC Excellence Standard 9.1 - Each Instructor shall:

• Have a minimum of five years of experience as an HVACR field service technician or higher, that directly relates to the competencies being taught.
• Hold a valid Refrigerant Transition and Recovery Universal Certification, as required by 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F of Section 608 of the Clean Air Act of 1990.
• Meet all criteria as set forth as a technical educator established by your state, local government or authority having jurisdiction of the program.
• Be able to conduct demonstrations, provide explanations, and convey ideas, concepts and theories for all aspects of the curriculum.
• Reflect an image of high ethical values, honesty, tactfulness, patience, and friendliness toward others.
• Meet one or more of the following:
• Be a graduate of an HVACR program consisting of a minimum of 600 hours of training
• Hold an associate degree in HVACR technology
• Hold the title of Certified Master HVACR Educator (CMHE)
• Be working towards their CMHE by completing two educator-specific credentialing exams each calendar year
• Adjunct instructors must pass an educator specific credentialing exam in each of the disciplines that directly relate to the competencies that they teach, within 12 months of employment
• Hold a bachelor's degree in HVACR or building science trades technology

The biggest mistake an administrator can make is to hire an instructor who is not fully qualified and properly trained to teach. Doing so will generally result in student dissatisfaction with the program, poor instructor retention, and an unfavorable perception of the program.  

Giving them the tools to do their job

Once the right person is found for the position, it is still often difficult for them to cope with the many challenges of their new career as an instructor. In order to retain good instructors, we need to provide them with the opportunities and tools to succeed. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the school administration to provide instructors with the support needed to help ensure success.

The following are some of the key elements in developing and retaining qualified instructors.

Mentoring: To help instructors transition from the field to the classroom, administrators must establish and maintain an instructor mentoring program. A good mentoring program would allow a new instructor to work daily with a seasoned instructor. This may require placing the new instructor at a facility other than their assigned school. During this suggested two month period, the person can develop strategies in developing lesson plans, learn about various teaching techniques, learn how to properly evaluate students, develop time management skills, master presentation skills, and learn how to incorporate teaching aides into their instruction. Additionally, instructors can learn the importance of properly completing and filing all required reports.

Professional Development: When a person’s role changes from technician to instructor, so should the type of professional development they obtain. Encourage your instructors to attend professional development for HVACR instructors. Not only will they learn more about new and emerging technologies, they will be able to interact with other instructors who can share their experiences and success stories. If they attend the National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference, they will meet people who have been teaching HVACR programs for twenty or more years. Sure, they make it look easy, but that is because someone took the time to give them the resources they needed to successfully transition from the field to the classroom.

Credentialing: Many instructors hold various types of technician certifications. However, this does not guarantee that they posses the depth of knowledge adequately prepare students for success. This can only be accomplished through specialized credentialing exams, custom designed for HVACR instructors. Instructors should be challenged to verify the depth of their knowledge through credentialing. The results of these credentialing exams can be used to create customized professional development plans for each instructor.

Program Advisory Committee: Successful programs generally have a strong program advisory committee. HVAC Excellence offers a guide to developing and maintaining successful program advisory committees. This document will provide instructors with a list of the best practices used to develop and conduct a strong program advisory committee meeting.

Administrators should make every effort to support the program by attending the advisory meetings.

Nurturing: If you give instructors the right training and support, you can help highly effective technicians become highly effective instructors that prepare others for success.

Great instruction requires facilities, equipment, tools, curriculum and other resources. However, at the end of the day the most important asset in your classroom is the instructor chosen to lead it.