Contractor partners with Treasure Valley school to heat up chilled workforce

Workforce demands continue to rise as development continues and communities keep expanding within Idaho.

As such, ESI Construction has partnered with the College of Western Idaho to fill the need for skilled technicians, especially in the refrigeration industry.

The partnership has yielded the Refrigeration Academy at CWI , a 10-week course starting this summer that will certify its first class of refrigeration and controls technicians.

“It’s a lot more complicated than people think,” said Jon Denham, ESI’s refrigeration superintendent. “You need the technical know-how but you also have to work well as a team and trust each other’s abilities out in the field.”

ESI stated that two “persistent” challenges facing construction companies are the tightening labor market and finding new, skilled trade professionals.

“The labor issue is not new but we decided to do something about it and explore the innovative ways to continue providing first-choice service to our customers,” said Neil Nelson, president of ESI. “The partnership with CWI allows us to do that by giving our team access to excellent instructors and a dedicated, hands-on training space to learn these critical skills.”

The contractor and school are sharing resources, a release stated, giving recruits necessary training and certification to pursue their careers.

“The collaboration merges our educational excellence with ESI’s industry expertise, ensuring the students gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving field,” said Gordon Jones, president of CWI.

At the end of the 10-week course, students are challenged with a competitive exercise that pits them against “a defunct grocery store refrigeration cabinet” that they must repair. That challenge leads to graduation and job assignments.

“Although many of the techniques are the same, the industry is changing and we are constantly learning regardless of where you’re at in your career,” Denham said.

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