If you are looking for one constant in an AV career, change is probably a pretty safe bet.
New technologies arrive. Standards evolve. AV and IT continue to overlap. The things we needed to understand five or ten years ago are not necessarily the things campus technology professionals need to understand today.
That reality is behind some simple advice from Andres Garcia of Legrand for someone beginning a career in AV, IT, or higher education technology: stick with it, get involved in the profession, and recognize that with the speed of change, “you will always be learning.”
It is also a fitting perspective for a company that has made education a significant part of how it engages with the AV industry.
Garcia said programs like the PRISM Scholarship help foster the next generation of higher education AV professionals at a time when the industry needs more people finding their way into the field. He pointed to education, workforce development, certification support, internships, and industry engagement as ways Legrand works to create pathways for students and emerging professionals.
Learning Without the Paywall
One of the easiest examples to see is AV University, Legrand’s online training platform.
The courses are free, self-paced, and cover considerably more than a collection of product tutorials. Current offerings include foundational topics such as electricity and screen design alongside subjects such as AI in AV. Many courses provide AVIXA CTS renewal units, giving working professionals an opportunity to continue developing their knowledge while maintaining industry credentials. Legrand also offers live training both online and in person.
That accessibility matters. Professional development can be difficult to fit around classes starting, projects being installed, tickets coming in, and all the other work happening on a campus. Removing the cost and allowing someone to work through training on their own schedule makes it easier for a new technician, student employee, seasoned AV professional, or somebody simply trying to learn a new area of the industry to participate.
Legrand has also built education specifically around the challenges higher ed teams are working through. Its training resources include sessions on USB-C deployment in learning spaces, classroom furniture and acoustics, and higher education topics such as AV-over-IP, AR/VR, AI, and automation. Its higher education resource center adds solution diagrams, case studies, guides, webinars, and examples from actual campus environments.
The point is not simply learning how to install a mount, rack, camera, or screen. It is developing a broader understanding of why the technology is there and how all of those pieces fit into the learning environment.
Creating a Way Into the Industry
The investment extends beyond education for existing AV professionals.
At the broader Legrand North and Central America level, Early in Career Development Programs give recent graduates hands-on experience through structured programs in areas including sales, finance, operations, and digital marketing. Some use multi-year rotations to expose participants to different parts of the organization, with ongoing training and mentoring built into the experience.
Garcia pointed specifically to that model when talking about developing AV’s next generation. He described a program where college graduates can join Legrand and spend several years learning different parts of the organization before ultimately moving into a permanent role.
That kind of pathway matters because AV does not always have the clearly defined educational pipeline found in some other professions.
After more than 30 years in the industry, Garcia has watched people enter AV at one level and develop into technicians and eventually move into roles supporting higher education, corporate environments, manufacturers, and other parts of the industry. In his view, companies have a role to play in developing that talent rather than simply waiting for experienced AV professionals to appear.
There are educational programs around the country that introduce people directly to AV, but Garcia would like to see more of those opportunities, particularly in the western United States. Until those pathways become more common, internships, rotational programs, mentoring, and other early-career opportunities can help bridge that gap.
For people already working at Legrand, development continues internally. The company says salaried employees have access to more than 300 self-paced management and professional-development courses, alongside leadership-development programs and opportunities to explore other roles across the organization.
There is a community component as well. Through Legrand’s Better Communities program, employees support schools through volunteerism, monetary and product donations, sustainability initiatives, and efforts encouraging STEM education. Full-time employees receive paid volunteer time that can be used for Legrand-sponsored community projects.
Someone Has to Open the First Door
For Garcia, the idea of investing in someone’s career is not theoretical.
He credits Art Garcia with giving him an opportunity to enter Pro AV in 1992, an opportunity that began a career now spanning more than three decades.
There is an important connection there to the HETMA Golf Classic and PRISM Scholarship. Training can help someone grow once they are in the industry. Mentors can help them find their direction. Companies can create programs and resources that keep that growth going.
But someone still has to open the first door.
For Garcia, that happened more than 30 years ago. Today, programs that bring recent graduates into a company, expose them to different roles, and give them time to develop can open that door for someone else.
By supporting PRISM while continuing to make education and development resources available across the AV community, Legrand is helping create more of those opportunities and giving people somewhere to keep learning once they arrive.
