Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technician

When a furnace quits on a minus-thirty January night in Sudbury, the person who gets the call is an HVAC technician. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technician is a two-year, four-semester Ontario College Diploma at Cambrian College’s Barrydowne campus, accredited by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA).

Semester one starts with Electrical Fundamentals & Installation, Gas Technician G3, Trades Practices, Trade Math I and Refrigeration I. Semester two brings Appliance Installations, Maintenance Setup, Gas/Pipe Fitter and Refrigeration II. In semester three you work through HVAC Control Labs, HVAC Appliance Labs, Advanced HVAC Controls and HVAC Appliances, and the final term covers HVAC Heating Systems Lab, HVAC Heating Lab, Forced Air Systems, Hydronics and Water Heaters and Air Conditioning Heat Pumps, taking you from basic wiring to full heating and cooling system service.

Cambrian teaches most of this diploma in its HVAC labs, where you install, set up and troubleshoot furnaces, boilers, water heaters and heat pumps with enrolment capped to protect bench time. After first year you can write the TSSA Gas Technician 3 and Gas Technician 2 exams and earn ODP, System 636 and CSST certifications, with the Gas Pipe Fitter exam as an option. After second year you are fully certified as a Heating Systems Technician, and selected students compete at Skills Ontario.

Graduates of Cambrian’s HVAC Technician diploma work as gas technician, heating systems technician, HVAC service technician, refrigeration and air conditioning apprentice, sheet metal apprentice and building maintenance technician in commercial, institutional and industrial settings. It suits mechanically minded people who like troubleshooting, are comfortable with electrical controls and gas safety codes and want licensed, in-demand trade work.