Ensuring Workforce Sustainability in a High-Demand Industry

For Trane Technologies, a $17 billion-dollar leading climate innovator with 40,000 employees around the world, building new talent pipelines to meet the global demand for key roles, including service technicians, is crucial. The company specializes in bringing efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation, through their strategic brands Trane® and Thermo King®. “Our Trane Commercial business is the largest we have as an organization and commercial HVAC service technicians are critical to our organization,” says Amy Volz, Director of Workforce Innovation at Trane Technologies. “My team is fully focused on ensuring we have a sustainable workforce for our most critical job roles, and when we looked at the commercial HVAC service technician population across the U.S., - a high-demand occupation – we saw an opportunity to create a pathway into these roles and broaden our pipeline of talent,” says Volz. Assessing the situation, Volz and her team realized they needed to find a way to bring new people into the occupation by giving them an opportunity to learn about the industry and a sustainable pathway to enter the field.

Leveraging Partnerships for Nationwide Success

Volz has been on the executive board with the Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM) since 2021 and during this time she learned of WiM’s partnership with Jobs for the Future (JFF), a partnership that helps companies find the information and support they need to start an apprenticeship program. WiM acts as the initial contact for companies interested in exploring registered apprenticeship opportunities. WiM's team then collaborates with JFF to guide and simplify the intricacies of establishing an apprenticeship program. If a company decides to move forward with an apprenticeship program, JFF is there every step of the way. “We started working with JFF very early on and they were tremendously helpful in providing expertise to our Trane Apprenticeship Program (TAP),” says Volz. Working with JFF also significantly simplified the process of building an apprenticeship program on a national scale. “Our partnership with JFF was critical as they provided the external point of view around what it takes to launch a program nationally as well as manage it at such a large scale. The TAP is a nationally registered program and we're operating all across the country, in more than 30 states,” says Volz.

Rapid Expansion and Promising Career Paths

Trane Technologies launched its apprenticeship program in February 2023, which is already growing by leaps and bounds. The next cohort, which started in August, has 60 apprentices, tripling the initial cohort. The entire program’s apprenticeship number is around 160 apprentices nationwide. “We have four cohorts —two per year — open to all aspiring commercial HVAC service technicians in the United States,” says Volz. The four-year program is nationally registered through the U.S. Department of Labor and is comprised of Related Technical Instruction and On-the-Job Training for each of the four years. The apprentice is also supported throughout the entirety of the program by a more senior service technician, serving as a mentor. “Our Technician Apprenticeship Program provides a growth-oriented pathway towards a meaningful and lucrative career,” says Volz.

Positive Feedback and High Application Rates

Feedback on the program has been extremely positive. “We have 99% participant satisfaction, with program apprentices reporting they have found it to be a valuable and rewarding experience. Equally positive is the feedback we’ve received from our mentors. They’ve shared how gratifying it is to help guide this next generation of skilled workers, and to see the program’s success as a mechanism through which we will continue to grow our future talent,” says Volz. As for the rate of applications? They are 20 times higher than what Volz and her team see for more experienced technician roles. The program also attracts not just early talent but individuals from diverse backgrounds, including military veterans and those seeking to reskill or upskill. “They're seeing this for exactly what it is: an opportunity to restart their careers, receive more on-the-job development and advance their success,” says Volz.

Strategic Vision and Diversity Initiatives

With its tremendous growth, Volz and her team are already evaluating how they can shape the program for the future. “Operationally, we're looking at how our model can evolve to make sure that the infrastructure remains robust enough to support continued growth,” says Volz. Also, while a little over a third of the program’s population comes from underrepresented populations, Volz and her team are focusing their efforts on further increasing diversity and attracting more women to the field. “Our last cohort was the most diverse yet, with about 47% of the cohort coming from underrepresented populations – and we are excited to grow that number,” says Volz. “We are committed to creating true opportunity for all and are investing in innovative ways to evaluate and eliminate barriers to broaden our talent pools. To grow for the future and sustain our uplifting, engaging and inclusive culture, we must attract and retain talent reflective of our communities. We have three women joining the program for the first time in August, and are eager to continue helping expose this rewarding industry to those who haven’t traditionally joined it,” Volz explained.

Insights for Companies Considering Apprenticeship Programs

After working through the launch and continued growth of Trane Technologies’ apprenticeship program, Volz has advice for other companies looking to start an apprenticeship program of their own. “Open the doors as wide as possible from the very beginning. From day one, we made the program available to everyone across the United States, regardless of prior industry experience or a four year degree – and that quickly helped us grow in a significant, impactful way. That also ensured all apprentices across the country have the same experience at the same time,” says Volz. Another thing Volz says was a benefit to them was having technicians at the table, people who had been in the business for a long time to give their point of view and help inform the program from the very beginning. “That point of view, having real conversations, and being willing to listen to the expertise of those who have been in the field, who are super passionate about programs like this and investing in the next generation of talent – that was a really critical initial piece,” says Volz.

A Benchmark for Success

Trane Technologies’ apprenticeship program exemplifies how a well-structured, inclusive, and rapidly scalable initiative can address critical workforce needs and create significant benefits for both the company and its employees. By opening the doors wide from the start and leveraging strong partnerships, Trane Technologies has set a benchmark for successful apprenticeship programs in the industry.

To learn more about WiM’s partnership with JFF, and starting your own apprenticeship program, click here.