©2024 This excerpt taken from the article of the same name which appeared in ASHRAE Journal, vol. 66, No. 8, August 2024.
Empowering Our Workforce: Building a Sustainable Future
By M. Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP
About the Author
M. Dennis Knight is ASHRAE’s president for the 2024-25 term. He has served as an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, chair of the International Standards Advisory Subcommittee and vice chair of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force, among other extensive involvement, and is the recipient of several ASHRAE awards.
Knight is the founder of Whole Building Systems, LLC, Mount Pleasant, S.C., and his experience in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of high performance buildings spans over 46 years. He has commissioned hundreds of new buildings and audited or retro-commissioned over 100 million ft2 (9.3 million m2) of existing commercial, federal and industrial building stock.
I am the one of happiest people alive. Here’s why. My wife Shirl and I are celebrating 50 years of marriage! When Shirl and I got married, we were kids. She was 17, and I had just turned 18. Our wedding photographer’s camera of choice was a Polaroid—you know, the ones with self-developing pictures? About an hour after our wedding, we pulled our 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury into a drive-through restaurant to grab two hot dogs for our honeymoon meal. Then, we were off to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a two-night honeymoon getaway.
If you asked me the secret to a 50-year marriage, I would tell you that it’s an investment in and commitment to making our relationship work. I’d also tell you that it’s not always easy—but boy, it is worth it!
Our honeymoon lasted only two nights because I had to return to work first thing Monday morning.
My journey in the building industry began just two weeks after I graduated from high school. I stepped into the workforce, ready to learn and contribute. My brand-new job title was “power plant piping systems designer.” That’s a fancy way of saying “draftsperson.” An engineer named Fred Howard, who visited my high school drafting class, offered me the position in my junior year when I was just 16.
Why would the largest power company in the U.S. that designed, built, owned and operated some of the biggest power plants in the world talk to a 16-year-old kid about employment? The answer is simple: workforce development!
They invested in and were committed to attracting and retaining people who would do the necessary work to advance their business goals. By starting at the high school level, they were casting a wider net, accessing a larger pool of employment candidates and including students on traditional and nontraditional tracks to higher education and career development.
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