Women in HVACR, the nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration trades, announced in May 2026 the launch of the Navigator Mentor Training Program — the first structured curriculum in the HVACR industry specifically designed to teach mentorship skills to women in the trades.
The baseline: Women make up approximately 3% of the HVACR workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure reflects decades of structural barriers to entry, limited visibility of the trades as a career option for women, and a lack of peer support infrastructure for those who do enter the industry.
What the Navigator program does: Originally launched in 2024, Navigator pairs emerging female professionals with experienced industry veterans for guided mentorship. The new Mentor Training Program adds a formal training component that teaches participants how to be effective mentors themselves — not just how to be mentored. The program has demonstrated strong participation growth, with tripling in size over the last two years, more than 400 mentorship meetings completed, and over 90 professional development goals set by mentees.
Why the mentor training matters: The most effective workforce development programs multiply their impact by creating people who can then mentor others. A woman who completes Navigator and then mentors two incoming technicians has created a compounding effect that a standard recruitment program cannot replicate. WHVACR President Jane Sidebottom described the Mentor Training Program as an effort to flood the industry with women trained to be mentors to other women.
The business case for contractors: Companies that actively support women in the trades — through mentorship programs, structured career paths, and professional development — are demonstrably better at retaining female technicians. In a labour market where every trained technician retained is a recruiting and onboarding cost saved, the economics of inclusion are not just ethical but operational.
The navigator program is powered by MentorCity, a cloud-based mentoring platform. The 2026 Women in HVACR Annual Conference, Built for Speed, is scheduled for September 27 to 29 at the JW Marriott Indianapolis, where the mentor training program will be further expanded.
