Marco Faccin, Head of Strategic Sales Projects at Vaillant Germany. (Photo: © MIKE KÖNIG Photography / Vaillant)
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1 January 2023
Vaillant is one of the leading providers of products and solutions in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technology. With its Start-up Workshop, the company targets trained HVAC tradespeople who want to establish their own businesses.
Skilled worker shortage : One of the affected sectors in the skilled trades is plumbing, heating, and air conditioning (HVAC) . Vaillant aims to counteract this and has developed a project for qualified HVAC tradespeople who want to start their own business : the Start-up Workshop . At the same time, this initiative is intended to attract a new generation of apprentices .
From setting up your own business and acquiring customers to marketing measures , digitalization , material procurement, and networking – all of this is related to self-employment . With its Start-up Workshop, Vaillant aims to support individual career paths and strengthen the skilled trades in the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning (PHVAC) sector as a whole.
We asked Marco Faccin , Head of Strategic Sales Projects at Vaillant Germany , five questions about the project.
HB: Where did the idea for the startup workshop come from?
Faccin: The idea for the Start-up Workshop stems from the fact that we can only meet the rapidly growing demand for modern heating technology with sufficient capacity in the skilled trades. Therefore, as a manufacturer, we want to strengthen young entrepreneurs through partnerships and support them in becoming self-employed. This benefits both sides.
Operations management
Operations management
Operations management
HB: What are the challenges in recruiting skilled workers?
Faccin: The biggest challenge is getting young people excited about the profession of plant mechanic. With our Start-up Workshop, we offer a long-term career perspective designed to encourage more young people to pursue this exciting and forward-looking profession. We help train and develop the next generation in the skilled trades by supporting them on their path to self-employment. Well-trained specialists are urgently needed. With our program, we also support them in recruiting skilled personnel for their own companies in the future.
HB: What opportunities does the Startup Workshop offer for the industry?
Faccin: We are currently the only manufacturer on the market offering young entrepreneurs something of this quality and breadth. At the same time, we are taking on a pioneering role here, and with our initiative, we want to motivate more market participants to help develop the next generation of plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning installers. These young tradespeople are ready and eager to install innovative technologies, such as heat pumps. And the more self-employed individuals and companies are active in our specialized trades, the more installation capacity and growth we can offer. This has a positive impact on the energy transition and, of course, on the industry as well.
HB: To what extent can founders contribute to the energy transition?
Faccin: Every tradesman in our industry is actively contributing to the energy transition by installing environmentally friendly heating technology. The new generation, in particular, is increasingly becoming more involved in this topic, rapidly adapting to the latest technologies, and thus generating enormous added value for the industry.
HB: What insights have you gained so far from the Founding Workshop project?
Faccin: We now have a well-increasing number of young entrepreneurs in our Founders' Workshop. They reflect to us that there is a need for support in the market. This is evident, for example, in the master craftsman training program: there, some topics necessary for starting a business are only briefly touched upon or not discussed at all. With our project, we offer the young entrepreneurs significant added value. In return, they give us their loyalty and enjoy working with us.
The questions were asked by Verena S. Ulbrich.
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About Vaillant"The future in sight" Energy-saving and environmentally friendly systems for heating, ventilation and hot water with Focus on renewable energies – for over 145 years Vaillant as international family business with headquarters in Remscheid, one of the Market and technology leaders in the industry.
Further information about the company can be found on the Vaillant website.Source: VaillantHB now also digital!Simply click here and register for the digital HB!
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