BLINN PREPARES STUDENTS FOR HEATING, VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING INDUSTRY

  

Every Tuesday and Thursday for six months, Cameron Mikeska has made the hour-long drive from his home in Montgomery to the Blinn College Workforce Education Training Center in College Station to participate in the College’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Program.

With his sights set on becoming a certified HVAC technician, Mikeska said Blinn is one of the few institutions in the region to host a program that will help him achieve his goal.

“I always knew that traditional school was not for me,” he said. “I wanted to have a hands-on learning experience, and Blinn’s HVAC Program has proven to be the perfect fit.”

Blinn’s HVAC Program prepares students for a career as a commercial or residential technician in the installation of heating, ventilation, central air conditioning, and refrigeration systems. Courses include hands-on training and skills development in the application of soldering and blazing, fittings, power distribution, heating fundamentals, furnaces, air distribution systems, ductwork, electrical, troubleshooting, venting, theory, principles, refrigerants, blueprint reading, load calculations, and mathematics.

Students who complete the program are eligible for a variety of careers, including HVAC service technician, HVAC installer, air conditioning technician, HVAC specialist, and HVAC mechanic. Technicians can be employed in a large variety of industries, ranging from construction to residential.

“The HVAC Program at Blinn College prepares students for the actual scenarios they will encounter when out in the field,” Program Instructor Ronald Kleppel said. “Graduates are able perform a wide-range of duties – from the basics of refrigeration to troubleshooting.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for HVAC technicians are expected to grow 14 percent between 2014 and 2024. The average national salary of a technician is $21.69 hourly and $45,110 annually, and technicians can earn in excess of $65,000 based on region, years of experience, and industry.

Blinn’s HVAC program is composed of two courses running over a 10-month period. New students are accepted in the Fall semester and must successfully complete the first course to enroll in the second. All courses are held at the Blinn College Workforce Education Training Center located at 5503 Raymond Stotzer Parkway in College Station.

“Students who enroll in the HVAC program with a decent mechanical background and the willingness to learn will succeed in this career field,” Kleppel said. “I value the connections I make with my students and look forward to potentially working alongside them out in the field.”

Blinn’s technical and community education courses are designed to provide students the knowledge and ability they need to enter the workforce immediately after completion of the courses. Many of these courses do not require a high school diploma and enrollment is fast and easy. As most of these courses are non-credit, students do not need to go through the College’s admission process to enroll. Programs vary in length and are offered with daytime, evening, and weekend options.

For more information regarding Blinn’s HVAC Program, visit: www.blinn.edu/workforce/courses/hvac.html.