St. Lawrence 313D Residential Air Conditioning program: A fresh take on HVAC training
The HVACR industry thrives on its ability to build a skilled, engaged, and future-ready workforce. The challenge, however, is that HVACR professionals have little time or energy outside their full-time jobs to take on additional training and upskilling–especially those who are clocking in the hours at the beginning of their careers. Here is where a more flexible and hybrid approach to apprenticeship training benefits both the industry and its incoming talent.
“Apprentices are busy as it is balancing their focus between work and home that they don’t have much room for more training,” says Daniel Liao, Dean of Applied Science, Technology & Trades, at St. Lawrence College. "For educators like us, it's motivation to offer training initiatives that fit in more with their lives."
Case in point: St. Lawrence College’s Residential Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic course, a hybrid online/offline course that trains students in the 313D Residential Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic Apprenticeship. The program is split between two levels–Apprenticeship Program Code 1164 & 1165–and covers a broad range of residential air conditioning fundamentals, practices, and technologies. Each level includes 12 weeks of online learning that students can take in their off-hours, followed by 3 continuous weeks of hands-on training at the College's Reliance Home Comfort Residential HVAC Lab at its Kingston campus.
“Unlike traditional programs requiring two-month absences per term, he adds, the program only requires three weeks of in-person lab training, minimizing time away from their employment,” says Aaron Naphan, an instructor for the program and Mechanical Facilities Manager at Queen’s University. “This innovative hybrid format allows apprentices to earn while they learn, completing theoretical coursework remotely during evenings from home.”
Indeed, Naphan adds, the program's goal is to prepare up-and-coming refrigeration professionals for the evolving industry in a format that better suits their busy schedules. Upon completing all required levels, graduates receive industry-recognized certification that open doors to long-term careers in high-demand industries.
Naturally, training initiatives like this have the knock-on effect of building a deeper labour pool. Rob Lake, owner of Dows ClimateCare, shares his perspective as an industry employer, noting, “The innovative hybrid delivery of St. Lawrence College’s 313D training offers incredible benefits to the industry. Many apprentices want to keep working full-time while attending trade school and there is no shortage of work at a company like mine. The amount of time they take off to attend in-person schooling is minimized because the theory is delivered conveniently online.”
While the program is relatively new, feedback from its first wave of students has been promising. Jon Perrault, for one, is a Service/Installation Technician with Joe’s Heating & Air Conditioning and level 1 apprentice in Port Hope who tells HRAI, “What I like about the 313D course is that I now understand the scientific 'why' behind the procedures I've already learned in the field, and the hybrid learning method is great because I can still work while I'm going to school.”
Perrault says the in-class training had been key for connecting with industry peers, noting, “The program presents the opportunity to meet fellow techs in the trade that can bolster the learning process with their own experiences in the HVAC service world.”
The HVACR industry needs professionals who are ready for what comes next. This requires training and education programs that fit into their busy lives while setting them up for long and sustainable careers.
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