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Southeast HVAC News
Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning Program Preparing Skilled Technicians.
Every private residence, business,
industry and agency needs the skill of technicians trained in the
installation, maintenance and repair of air conditioning,
refrigeration and heating systems. Because these systems are
increasing in complexity, skilled technicians are in continuous
demand to keep them running at maximum capacity.
In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Heating,
Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is one of the top 50 fastest
growing occupations--projected to grow by 23 percent in South
Carolina alone.
While opportunities are good across the board, job opportunities for
HVAC technicians are expected to be particularly excellent for those
who have completed training at an accredited technical college or
through an apprenticeship. Candidates familiar with computers and
electronics, as well as those who have developed troubleshooting
skills, will have the best job opportunities as employers continue
to have difficulty finding qualified technicians to work on complex
new systems.
“Piedmont Technical College’s HVAC program focuses on providing
students with the theory and the real-world experience to fully
understand the three main pillars of HVAC: air, electrical and
mechanical,” said Keenan Tallant, interim program director for HVAC
at Piedmont Tech. “Students are then taught how to apply that
knowledge to the same kind of challenges they’ll face on the job.”
Students learn to diagnose and repair malfunctions; size, fabricate
and install air duct systems; and estimate cooling and heating loads
for selection of the most efficient systems for a given building.
“When you’re out in the field, the primary focus is on getting the
job done, and you may not fully understand the science behind what
you’re doing every day,” said Tallent. “To be successful in the
field, you really need to understand the whole system. And that’s
the way we teach here. Our students learn from instructors with
years of experience in the field.”
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The HVAC program
offers certificates in Refrigeration Applications and Heating
Fundamentals as well as a full associate degree, so there are
options for everyone.
Students will soon be learning in a new state-of-the-art
facility. The new space is a little over 10,000 square feet in
size which is larger than the space currently provided for the
program. The facility features 3,000 square feet of concreted
space which will house outside training units as well as hi-tech
classrooms, a new super market rack refrigeration trainer and
mobile walk-in freezer units. The goal is to get all of the HVAC
functions, which are currently spread across three locations on
the Greenwood campus, in one location. This project is expected
to be ready for classes in spring 2016.
According Tallent, demand for well qualified HVAC technicians in
the area is constant.
“Right now, our placement rate for our 2013-2014 graduates is 92
percent,” he says. “Generally, there are more jobs out there
than we have graduates.”
Tallent says that, because many of the HVAC business owners and
contractors in our region came through PTC’s program themselves,
graduates can be sure they’re getting exactly the training
they’ll need to go to work after graduation.
“We like Piedmont Technical College grads because they are local
and they know the communities that we serve,” said Jimmy Wilson,
owner of Wilson Refrigeration and AC Service in Pomaria. “The
students who have graduated from Piedmont Tech are more advanced
than those who don’t have that degree.”
“We really care about our students,” says David Kibler, interim
dean of engineering and industrial technologies. “They’re here
because they know what they’re learning can change their lives.
We’re passionate about what we do because we see every day the
positive this kind of knowledge transfer has on them.”
For more information, visit
www.ptc.edu/hvac.
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