The COVID-19 pandemic required individuals and businesses alike to change their traditional methods of operation in many ways. Even with lockdowns and travel restrictions, critical infrastructure still requires support from on-site field service technicians and engineers to keep the wheels of industry in motion. This is especially true in the boiler industry. Permanent installations as well as temporary rental boiler applications need to be commissioned by qualified service engineers. Existing installations require diagnostics and servicing when problems arise, and periodic maintenance is necessary for optimal operation of any boiler plant.
To further complicate things, there is a shortage today of qualified boiler service technicians and service engineers that can provide these tasks. American military branches, especially the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, used to educate legions of candidates right out of high school to provide the specialized skills required of our industry. Unfortunately, the current modern naval fleet no longer relies primarily on fired, boiler-generated, steam-turbine propulsion and has evolved to primarily nuclear, diesel, and gas turbine technologies. As a result, the industry is no longer able to use this resource to help staff its workforces. To further add to this dilemma, the existing base of boiler technicians is an aging group; many are still working past normal retirement ages, while others have fully retired. Most high schools and trade schools are not currently providing the training, nor, subsequently, the quantity of candidates with the skill sets the industry requires. Although this needs to be covered in depth at a later forum, these are well-paying careers, with most technicians earning six-figure annual incomes. The industry needs to step up to the plate and develop programs to train the next generation of boiler technicians.