The challenge for the industry is getting more of these types of students to go from not knowing what AV integration is to realizing how “pretty awesome” a career in the industry can be. The way to make that leap is to put the industry more on the radar of colleges so it can be supported in their curriculums and, in general, talked about more. That is much easier said than done, according to PSNI’s Miller who, as a former InfoComm president, has experience pitching the AV industry to colleges.
“The first question they’d ask is, ‘What’s the opportunity? How many people is your industry going to hire every year?’ That’s a problem,” he says, because that data isn’t readily available.
It’s also where the issue gets complicated for the folks doing the hiring at integration firms. There is only so much they can do without that outside assistance. “I believe this is an issue that needs to be forefront in our vertical trade organizations that represent our industry. It’s not something that we can do as individuals,” Miller said.
Both InfoComm and NSCA are taking on the issue. InfoComm is working on accumulating exactly the type of data that Miller alludes to, InfoComm’s Labuskes said last November. It’s a long, arduous task.
“Part of what we had to do, which had not been done as an industry, is define it from a scale and scope of employment perspective, so there is a defined market of need when you talk to the curriculum developers at universities, technical schools and high schools.”
Related: Inside a College Class on AV Integration
InfoComm worked with researchers at Purdue University throughout 2015 to determine the number of people in the United States employed by the AV industry. Researchers have also been working to determine the number of jobs in the U.S. that are directly impacted by AV systems and technologies, such as broadcasters, media arts professionals, IT workers and technology managers in a variety of end-user organizations. InfoComm says these professions would benefit from focused AV training and resources and plans to pursue similar research in the European AV market. With this research in hand, the association plans to begin a dialogue with education institutions and other potential partners about the scope of professional AV and the opportunities available for a trained workforce.
NSCA’s Education Foundation, meanwhile, is developing its Ignite program (read about it here) aimed at letting technology-educated professionals “know that there are exciting careers apart from working for Verizon or a data networking company or an IT company,” says NSCA executive director Chuck Wilson. “There’s this AV world and the world of security and life safety that have incredible job growth potential.”
Going It Alone
While most integration firms welcome the support from InfoComm and NSCA, they can’t necessarily wait for recruits to be hand delivered. Some firms get creative when it comes to educating students about their companies, and in turn the industry.
The internship and apprenticeship program that connects Advance Technology with UNH-Manchester is an example. The integration firm has worked with several universities in its area to fill intern positions for sales, finance, design, engineering, technician and remote engineering since launching the program in the fall 2014 semester.
Whitlock has had a similar experience after teaming with Crestron for a programming-specific development strategy. The integration firm and automation manufacturer actually teamed with a higher education customer to guide a student through Crestron’s program for skilled programmers, explains Phillips. “Together with Crestron, we sponsored somebody coming out of the school and going to Crestron on a very intensive programming course. They actually graduated top of their class, came out and they’re now one of our most successful programmers. And I’m talking about a hyper-accelerated program.”
AVI-SPL has unique strategies for recruiting on the sales side versus more technical areas such as programming and system design. During 2015, the $500 million-plus integration firm brought on at least 15 new sellers, says senior VP of marketing Kelly Bousman. “Part of how we do that is recruiting from other industries,” she says. Then “a very structured onboarding process” slowly but surely assimilates the recruits into the unique AV market.
The technical side, of course, is trickier. AVI-SPL has also developed an internship program, which Bousman says is much like an apprenticeship. Again, the firm looks outside of the industry for programmers, for instance, and teaches them AV once they’re brought in.
Most recently AVI-SPL established a “public-private partnership” with a community college, Bousman says. It involves the Tampa, Fla.-based integration firm setting up a training center and innovations lab of AV and collaboration for the school where it will conduct training. “We’ll also use it as a recruitment avenue,” she says.
In the Whitlock-Crestron case and AVI-SPL’s approach of pulling in promising folks from outside the industry, the recruits come from a place of not knowing much AV at all. Whitlock’s programming recruit quickly overcame and became a top-notch programmer in a year, Phillips says. However, the strategy casts a narrow net. “I think we’ve seen the benefits of adopting this kind of program. I think the lesson from that is that you do have to take steps to grow your own, you know, you can’t just expect there to be this big pool of labor that’s out there.”
That is, unless InfoComm, NSCA or some other interested party is able to raise awareness of the opportunities abound in the AV integration industry.
That labor pool will probably never be as deep as it is for IT or other technical industries, points out Verrex’s Berry. “Our industry has always been a niche industry and it has a limited number of subject matter experts. As the technology evolves we need to find individuals that not only have the right attitude but have the ability to learn new skills, and that’s a challenge.”
An enormous challenge, but hopefully one the industry starts to turn the corner on soon.
Find Your Perfect Hire Today!
Imagine the possibilities of the top talent working for your team. Commercial Integrator Jobs is an ultra niche-focused job board associated with Commercial Integrator magazine and commercialintegrator.com. Turn to Commercial Integrator Jobs for an audience of engaged, qualified and up-to-date candidates for your job openings.
