Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic

Do you like working with machines? Are you strong and well-coordinated? Do you work well in a team? Are you self-reliant? Do you enjoy dealing with customers? Are you good at problem-solving? Do you crave variety on-the-job? Then, you could be a heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic!

What the work is like

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics install, maintain and repair air conditioning, refrigeration, and combined heating, ventilation and cooling systems. They are employed by installation contractors, construction companies, food wholesalers, engineering firms and service establishments. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics work in the new home building and renovation, heavy industrial, and institutional and commercial construction sectors.

Your duties

As a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic, your duties may include:

• Installing, troubleshooting and overhauling entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems
• Measuring refrigeration or air conditioning components for installation
• Working with hand and power tools to install refrigeration or air conditioning components
• Measuring and cutting piping, and connecting piping using welding equipment
• Testing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems for leaks
• Performing routine maintenance
• Repairing and replacing components for entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems
• Installing, maintaining and repairing equipment in refrigerated trucks
• Preparing work estimates
• Reading and interpreting blueprints

Work conditions

The standard work week for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics is 40 hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week). As with many careers in construction, there are peak periods that will require you to work overtime. The number of additional hours you work each week depends on the construction sector and region you work in, and will vary from one job to the next.

As a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and ventilation mechanic, your work conditions may vary from one project to another. You may work indoors or outdoors, alone or with a team of construction professionals.

As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics are trained to work safely, and wear special equipment to protect themselves from injury.

Essential skills

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified nine essential skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace:

• Reading text—extracting information from written material
• Document use—reading and interpreting documents to extract information
• Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
• Writing—writing text in documents and on the computer
• Oral communication—conveying or exchanging information verbally
• Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done
• Continuous learning—continuing to learn on the job
• Thinking skills
  • Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges
  • Decision making—making a choice among options
  • Critical thinking—analyzing a situation and making an assessment
  • Job task planning and organizing—working independently to plan and organize daily tasks
  • Significant use of memory—performing tasks that call upon greater memory use than most jobs
  • Finding information—locating information from a variety of sources, including text, people, computerized databases or information systems
• Computer skills—working with computers to operate machinery or to input/extract information

These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and are applicable to most construction careers. Best of all, you can learn and improve on these skills in school, on the job, and during your everyday life.

The most important Essential Skills for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics are:

• Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
• Significant use of memory—performing tasks that call upon greater memory use than most jobs
• Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is one way of starting out in the construction industry. It involves both classroom studies, and on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic called a journeyperson.

As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour while working on the job site. Wages start at about 40% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate, and increase during your apprenticeship until you reach the full rate.

Requirements for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. In most provinces and territories, you must be at least 16 years old and have a Grade 12 education or equivalent to enter a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic apprenticeship program. You may find it helpful to have a course in mathematics.

Some provinces and territories offer secondary school apprenticeship programs that allow high school students to work towards a career as a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic.

Certification

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic certification is required in most provinces, and is available but voluntary in all other provinces and territories. Even where certification is voluntary it is still recommended. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.

To be certified as a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic, you usually need to complete a three- to four-year apprenticeship program. Once you successfully complete the on-the-job training, technical training and examinations required by the program, you are awarded a journeyperson certificate.

If you have over five years of on-the-job experience and some high school, college or industry courses in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic, you may be eligible for certification in some provinces and territories.

As a certified heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic you may attempt the Interprovincial Exam to qualify for the Interprovincial Standards’ Red Seal. With a Red Seal, you can work as a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic anywhere in Canada.

Certification for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics is compulsory in British Columbia

To keep your skills current, you have to keep up with new technological developments by reading, and talking with other heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics.

Where to study in Canada

In addition to the Canadian schools listed below, many employer and labour organizations offer training.

British Columbia Institute of Technology
Joint Apprentice Refrigeration Training School Ltd. (UA Local 516)
Malaspina University-College

Salary ranges

TYPICAL WORK WEEK/YEAR *

In addition to their hourly rate, many construction workers receive statutory holiday and vacation pay. Depending on the contract, you may also receive benefits such as group insurance for health, dental and vision care, retirement packages, and training benefits up to 30% of your hourly rate. If you are self-employed it’s up to you to arrange your own benefits.

* Wages vary across Canada, among labour organizations, and among open-shop construction contractors.

** Most construction work involves overtime, so your annual salary will vary depending on the number of hours you work. The salary range listed above represents the annual salary range for full-time journeyperson heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics across Canada, based on a 40-hour work week, without taking overtime into account.