HVACR NewsMagazine December 2017

S tate, National, Chapter News Education News

certificate or a degree, but we want our students to be employable and have lifelong skills that are not just for a job, but a career. We want them to learn how to be part of the community which they’re going to serve and it’s one of the things that are part of our goals at ASUN – to serve our communities. We want our students to understand that when they leave here it’s going to be part of their responsibility as well.”

within the industry while they work toward completing their degree.

“I stay in contact with our industry partners and we try to facilitate them being on campus and our students knowing who they are as much as we can,”

says Constant. “A lot of our industry partners are not afraid to call and say I have some part-time work, which is what most of our students are doing. We definitely work with them to find someone, and we’re always welcoming new partners.” The HVACR field is currently on the State of Arkansas demand list. ASUN’s program also qualifies for dislocated workers and veterans. Constant says he currently has one student, a veteran, who hopes to return overseas and work on heat and air conditioning units for the United States Army as an independent contractor once his coursework is complete. “They’re not limited, but some of the background that they have and what they’re going to get here is just

Constant says that in addition to technical knowledge, his students develop their soft skills, particularly in a course called Workplace

Essentials. They’re also taught how to work as a team, giving them knowledge that will assist them in any career path they take, and providing business management skills, woven into the coursework, that will assist them if they choose to own and operate their own HVACR business. The program was designed to allow students to work part-time and many of them, often with the help of Constant and other instructors, are able to obtain and maintain positions