The Next Generation Brings Tenacity to Building Tech with Diana Vargas

The building automation industry is facing a massive talent crisis, but the bottleneck isn't a lack of bodies, it’s an outdated approach to finding, training and hiring them.On this episode of It's a Controls Problem, we dive deep into the human architecture of smart buildings with Diana Vargas of Stacks+Joules. A non-profit powerhouse, Stacks+Joules is completely disrupting traditional workforce development by taking tech-marginalized youth and adults and fast-tracking them into advanced building automation and energy management careers.We break down how they utilize virtual sandboxes and digital twin environments to give students the freedom to fail, experiment, and build deep technical confidence before they ever step into a live mechanical room. Diana shares how their project-based curriculum prepares graduates to look past flashy software dashboards and tackle the critical, boots-on-the-ground hardware issues that actually keep facilities running efficiently.Finally, we look at how businesses can stop admiring the problem and start solving their talent shortages. Diana lays out a vision for where the built environment needs to go over the next decade, how systemic industry culture must evolve, and exactly how contractors, engineering firms, and end-users can partner with Stacks+Joules to build a more resilient, climate-critical workforce.Logic Link Collective:⁠⁠⁠Donate to Stacks+Joules⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Involved⁠⁠