My Manager Thinks I Know it all (Part I)

I am the lead technician for a residential – light commercial HVAC company.  Prior to starting at this company I received my associates degree from a technical college, obtained RSES CM status and hold current all NATE certifications.  I teach an HVAC class one evening a week at the local trade school.  I also average twenty minutes per day in self-study on various HVAC topics.  My manager, who is the company owner, keeps blowing me off when I ask him to pay for classes.  How can I convince my manager that he should send me for additional education?

One question, would that be the manager who you are working for now, or the one who you should soon be working for?  Short answer, reputable companies pay for a minimum of eighty hours of education per year.  This means they pay for your labor and the costs of classes.  And company meetings where policies, procedures and processes are discussed, do not count.

An immediate thought, given our desire here at The Technician Shop to progress and develop, is to tell you to find a new owner.  But we’d like to give your manager and others like him an idea to consider.  Before we do that however, we need to make sure of one thing, which is really directed towards our other readers.  Prior to asking your manager to pay for continuing education, make sure you are investing a minimum of twenty minutes per day yourself, on your own dime, in your own education.  Most serious technicians contribute more to their own education than their employer does.

Part II