Starting from Scratch: Jessey Newburn’s Move to HVAC
By Matthew Bradford
Not long ago, you’d find Jessey Newburn behind the bakery counter. Now? He’s behind the tools. With his first job in HVAC underway, Newburn is reflecting on a career change that’s giving him ample room to rise.
“I spent about 10 years in culinary school and working in the industry, including managing a couple of places in downtown Barrie,” Newburn tells HRAI’s In the Air newsletter. “I was starting to feel a bit burnt out and went looking for something new that would still be hands-on and let me carry over my strengths in especially customer-service.”
That search led Newburn to Georgian College’s 20-month Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician co-op diploma, where he began again from square one. “I knew almost nothing about HVAC,” he admits. “But, the program at Georgian did a phenomenal job teaching people who came in knowing nothing and building us up, so we were prepared for our co-op placements.”
Newburn’s move from the classroom into the workforce began with a co-op placement at PLANcaster Heating & Air Conditioning, which ran from September to December during his second year at Georgian College. After a short break, he contacted his supervisor to ask about employment opportunities. Impressed by the work he had done during his placement, the company brought him back part-time while he finished his studies and moved him into a full-time position after graduation. Newburn has since entered the refrigeration apprenticeship program and is accumulating the on-the-job hours required to earn his refrigeration ticket. “I was drawn to refrigeration because I find there’s more thinking involved in troubleshooting. You’re looking at refrigerant pressures in relation to the temperatures you’re taking while also dealing with a lot of electrical troubleshooting. The other this is that I’ve always been interested in the electrical side, especially as heat pumps become more popular, and refrigeration and electrical work go hand-in-hand.”
The move from the classroom to the field brought an entirely new kind of learning. "Being an HVAC technician is that every six months you are reminded of how little you knew six months ago," he jokes, noting that the experience so far has also been eye-opening when it comes to how quickly his career began to take shape. “What surprised me, though, and something I’ve also seen among my co-workers and former classmates, is how quickly a strong work ethic is rewarded. If you show up, work hard, and demonstrate confidence and knowledge, you can move up quickly. I thought I would have to work for years before I began to feel comfortable financially, but once I entered the industry, I realized that goal wasn’t as far out of reach as I had expected.”
It has been roughly two years since Newburn made the switch from culinary management to HVACR. Saying goodbye to an established career path was difficult, but once he made the decision, everything fell into place. His advice to others considering HVAC is equally straightforward: “I always tell people, ‘It might seem intimidating, but go for it.’"
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