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So, I’m scrolling through the news feed, and I see two headlines about the HVAC industry s... So, I’m scrolling through the news feed, and I see two headlines about the HVAC industry sitting side-by-side. On the surface, they couldn't be more different. One is a classic, heartwarming local news bit, Two Sioux Falls homes receive new HVAC units. The other is a dry press release about a corporate-educational partnership, OSUIT partners with AAON to develop customized training for HVAC workforce.
Most people would see feel-good charity and boring business. They’d read the first one, smile, and scroll right past the second.
But I see two sides of the same coin. And one side is a hell of a lot more honest about what it is.
The Charity-Industrial Complex
Let's start with the warm-and-fuzzies. A company called Howe Plumbing & Heating, in partnership with `hvac system` giant Lennox, is running a campaign called "Feel The Love." They donated two—count 'em, two—brand new HVAC units to "deserving" families in Sioux Falls.
It's the kind of story that local news stations eat up. You can almost see the segment: the slow-motion shot of the smiling `hvac technician` shaking hands with the grateful homeowner, the soft piano music swelling in the background. One of the recipients, Janean Michalov, runs a non-profit and sounds like a genuinely good person. She says she’s used to giving, not receiving, and that this will be impactful for her family. I believe her. I’m happy for her.
But let's not pretend this is pure altruism. This is a marketing campaign, plain and simple. Lennox has given away 2,300 units in 14 years. That’s about 164 units a year, spread across the entire country. How many thousands of `hvac companies` install Lennox products? This is a rounding error for them. It’s a calculated, tax-deductible expense that generates more in free advertising and brand goodwill than it could ever buy with a traditional ad campaign.
They're not just giving away an `hvac unit`; they're buying a narrative. They're buying the right to plaster their logo over a story of human kindness. It’s a brilliant, cynical play. Find a person who genuinely deserves help, put a camera on them, and suddenly your multi-million dollar corporation gets to wear the halo of a neighborhood good samaritan. It’s like a giant crocodile putting a band-aid on a bunny’s paw and expecting a pat on the head for it. Does the bunny appreciate the band-aid? Offcourse. Does it change the fact that it's dealing with a crocodile?
And it begs the question: what's the budget for the PR team that promotes the "Feel The Love" campaign versus the actual wholesale cost of those 164 units? I'd bet my last dollar the marketing spend is ten times higher. This isn't charity. It's an investment with a fantastic ROI.
Building the Perfect Corporate Cog
Now for the other story. The one nobody will click on. Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) is partnering with a `commercial hvac` manufacturer called AAON. They're creating "customized training courses" for AAON employees.
This is a bad idea. No, "bad" doesn't cover it—this is a five-alarm dumpster fire for the American worker, dressed up in the dullest corporate-speak imaginable.
Read the quotes. They talk about "workforce-driven education" and creating "clear pathways to advance their careers." Here’s the Nate Ryder translation: "We, the corporation, are now officially in the business of education. We will teach our employees only the specific skills they need to operate our machines and advance within our walls. We will strip away all the unnecessary fluff, like critical thinking or broad-based knowledge that might make them valuable to our competitors."
They call them "microcredential courses." It's not a degree. It's not a certification that has value across the industry. It's a company-specific stamp of approval. It’s the intellectual equivalent of a company town, where the only store that accepts your scrip is the one the company owns. These `hvac jobs` won't be careers; they'll be long-term gigs inside a walled garden.
This whole trend of hyper-specialized corporate training just drives me insane. It’s the slow death of the versatile, skilled tradesperson. We used to have an `hvac school` system that taught people the fundamentals of the entire field. You learned refrigeration, electrical, airflow—the whole works. You came out as a capable `hvac contractor` who could work for anyone, or even start their own business. But why would a giant like AAON want that? Why create a flexible, independent workforce when you can forge your own perfectly obedient one? They want a workforce that speaks only their dialect of the HVAC language.
They say it's to meet the demand from data centers. Great. So they're building a legion of technicians who know how to service the very specific, proprietary `hvac systems` AAON sells to Google and Amazon. What happens when that technology becomes obsolete in ten years? Or when AAON gets acquired and the new parent company shuts down that division? You’re left with a bunch of highly-trained workers whose "microcredentials" are about as useful as a degree in VCR repair.
They talk about "strengthening Oklahoma's workforce," but they're really just strengthening AAON's bottom line. It's a pathway to advance their careers, but a pathway to where? A better job at a competitor? I doubt it. It's a pathway that leads right back to the AAON factory floor, and honestly... it just feels like a trap. Then again, maybe I'm the crazy one for thinking education should be about liberation, not indenture.
Don't Fall for the Photo-Op
So here we have it. The two faces of the modern corporation.
One face is the smiling, charitable benefactor, handing out a couple of furnaces for the cameras while basking in the glow of manufactured goodwill. It’s a cheap, effective illusion. The other face is the cold, calculating strategist, co-opting the public education system to build a perfectly tailored, non-transferable workforce for its own exclusive use.
One is a performance for us. The other is the real business plan.
The "Feel The Love" campaign is the distraction. It's the magician's right hand waving the colorful scarf so you don't see what the left hand is doing. And what the left hand is doing is slowly, methodically turning the American worker from an independent agent into a proprietary component. One that can be trained, optimized, and ultimately, replaced with perfect efficiency. The free `hvac replacement` in Sioux Falls is a lovely gesture for two families. The corporate partnership in Oklahoma is a blueprint for the future of labor. And it’s a future where you don't own your skills—your employer does.