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A Message from the Chairman

A Message from the Chairman

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the EGIA Foundation. The EGIA Foundation is a nationwide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that is dedicated to promoting the home services trades and residential HVAC as a first-choice career option.

Everyone in the home services industry knows about the employment shortage being faced. The EGIA Foundation’s first endeavor was to take a closer look into the awareness and perceptions plaguing the industry by commissioning a comprehensive study performed and analyzed by Decision Analyst. Bridging the HVAC Employment Gap takes up the subjects of awareness and familiarity of high school students and their parents about HVAC as an industry and as a career. This publication reports on the learning achieved from a broad-sweeping research study of contractors, educators, manufacturers, and distributors in addition to high school students and parents.

It’s not just about research, the EGIA Foundation wants to change the perception of HVAC from a backup plan to a first-choice career. We’re actively working to understand it and take steps toward resolving it.

This upcoming year promises to be very exciting. Initially, the EGIA Foundation will be launching a public awareness campaign, through the use of educational videos that will focus on driving improved awareness of careers, job availability, and opportunities for success in the HVAC industry. Next, we will be releasing the Career Hub, a resource site that will connect entry-level workers with job creators.

We are privileged to support our industry by bringing better awareness of HVAC and its career opportunities. The EGIA Foundation could not do this without those who have sponsored or contributed. Thank you to our community of corporate and individual donors.

Sincerely, Bruce Matulich

EGIA Foundation Study Explores the Perception about HVAC Careers

At last month’s EPIC2018 Conference, the EGIA Foundation announced its newly published industry study that provided the impetus of several national initiatives being launched to encourage and develop post-millennial interest and success in an HVAC career.

Weldon Long, EGIA Foundation Trustee and New York Times bestselling author, unveiled Bridging the HVAC Employment Gap to an enthusiastic crowd of industry leaders and businesses. “The EGIA Foundation is taking the lead in addressing one of the most serious threats to the industry: the labor shortage,” said Long. “Focused on promoting HVAC as a first-choice career through a unique coalition of industry stakeholders, this organization is devoted to building the workforce through initiatives including public outreach, mentorship programs, scholarships and employment opportunities. Through this work, the EGIA Foundation is ensuring the industry can meet labor demands well into the future.”

The EGIA Foundation’s first endeavor was to take a closer look into the awareness and perceptions plaguing the industry by commissioning a comprehensive study performed and analyzed by Decision Analyst. Bridging the HVAC Employment Gap takes up the subjects of awareness and familiarity of high school students and their parents about HVAC as an industry and as a career. This publication reports on the learning achieved from a broad-sweeping research study of contractors, educators, manufacturers, and distributors in addition to high school students and parents.

For more information about the EGIA Foundation Study, visit the report page or view our latest press release.

EGIA Foundation Scholarship 2018-19 Class Announced!

The EGIA Foundation has selected its first-ever class of scholarship recipients, a group of students who will be pursuing education in an HVAC-related field at an accredited two-year college, vocational or technical school, or other approved institute during the 2018-19 academic year.

One of the EGIA Foundation’s core activities, the scholarship program helps to improve the ongoing workforce shortage in the home services industry by awarding twenty $2,500 scholarship to select dedicated individuals who are currently seeking education to better prepare themselves for a career in the industry.

To learn more about the program, visit our Scholarship page.

The EGIA Foundation Scholarship recipients for the 2018-19 academic year are:

• Michael Baker
St. Cloud Tech & Community College; St. Cloud, MN

• Andrew Bond
Triangle Tech, Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA

• John Bozone
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology; Okmulgee, OK

• Carrington Bragg
Community College of Baltimore County; Catonsville, MD

• John Cao
Southeast Technical Institute; Sioux Falls, SD

• Lyndon Chang
Pasadena City College; Pasadena, CA

• Surindra Deonarine
Lincoln College of Technology; Marietta, GA

• Adam Fromm
Chippewa Valley Technical College; Eau Claire, WI

• Jordan Giard
Lincoln Technical Institute; East Windsor, CT

• Tyler Hungerschafer
Bellingham Technical College; Bellingham, WA

• Thomas Jensen
University of Montana College of Technology; Missoula, MT

• Taran Manuel
Vatterott College; Berkeley, MO

• Papa Mbaye
Lone Star College: North Harris; Houston, TX

• John Ragusa
Lawson State Community College; Birmingham, AL

• Robert Reagan
College of Southern Idaho; Twin Falls, ID

• Zachary Slocum
Texas State Technical College; Waco, TX

• Eduard Tsikhotskiy
Porter and Chester Institute; Worcester, MA

• Robert Wilhelm
Northwestern Tech Institute; Southfield, MI

• Justin Zeller
Chattahoochee Technical College; Marietta, GA

2018-19 EGIA Foundation Scholarship Program Now Open!

We are proud to announce that the EGIA Foundation Scholarship Program is now accepting applicants for the 2018-19 academic year!

One of the Foundation’s core activities in pursuing our mission of expanding the benefits the public receives from the home services industry by developing its next generation of qualified workers, the EGIA Foundation Scholarship Program helps shoulder the education and training investment required to create valuable employment candidates who will enjoy long-term success and satisfaction in the home services industry, while also being able to contribute immediately to contracting companies, their local community and society at large.

Twenty scholarships of $2,500 apiece will be awarded to qualified applicants pursuing an HVAC technology-related course of study who are enrolled or planning to enroll at an accredited two-year college, vocational or technical school or other approved technical institute in the United States for the 2018-2019 academic year. This investment is intended to help reduce the shortfall of qualified workers in the home services industry, while ensuring that financial issues need not be a hurdle to determined young people interested in entering the industry.

For more information on the EGIA Foundation Scholarship Program or to apply, visit our Scholarship page or view our latest press release.

EGIA Foundation Launches with Commitment to Building Industry Workforce

The EGIA Foundation has officially launched!

A new 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit, we are committed to uplifting the home services industry by improving the escalating labor shortage that has plagued contracting companies for years. Using a scholarship program, in-depth industry research, targeted public awareness campaign, workforce development and industry collaboration, the EGIA Foundation will infuse the industry workforce with more and better-trained young people and increase the benefits it delivers to the general public.

To help fund that mission, the Electric & Gas Industries Association is donating $10 of every member’s monthly dues to the EGIA Foundation! That donation comes from every member’s current dues, meaning no cost is added to any membership. To learn more about the Foundation or find out how you can contribute, or contribute further, visit our Who We Are section or read the Foundation launch press release.