The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) will have the Honorable Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Labor, serve as the keynote speaker at the ACCA Annual Conference on February 12, 2018.

Secretary Acosta will speak during the opening session about workforce development and apprenticeship programs and provide attendees with the Trump Administration’s efforts to address technical training and career readiness programs.

“In 2017, as the incoming Chairman of ACCA, my goal was to transform ACCA into an organization that would positively impact workforce development programs,” said Don Langston, ACCA chairman of the board. “I am grateful to the dedicated staff and members of ACCA who have contributed to these efforts, and am proud that everything we have been doing has led to this moment. We are honored that Secretary Acosta is speaking at the ACCA conference, where he will discuss the vast amount of work being done to turn the U.S. into a model of apprenticeship programs and technical education.”

President Donald J. Trump nominated Acosta, the son of Cuban refugees, to be the 27th United States Secretary of Labor. He was sworn in on April 28, 2017, and has served in three presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions. In 2003, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and from 2005 to 2009 he served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

ACCA President and CEO, Paul T. Stalknecht, stated: “The Department of Labor’s activities are very important to America’s HVACR contractors. As the agency responsible for promoting workforce development and career readiness, the Secretary has a significant impact on ACCA’s members. He is playing a critical role helping the HVACR industry address our nation’s skilled labor shortage.”

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