A Look at Our Dedicated Training Program
Carolina Air recently outfitted a fully dedicated training space for for their HVAC technicians. Bill Duggan – who has been with Carolina Air since 2012 – is now the full time Chief Training Officer. He is one of only five Certified Master HVAC Educators in South Carolina. “10 years ago we began with training sessions in the kitchen” says Bill, “but owner John Tuckwiller supported the idea of having a dedicated space and were excited about building out the program and provide more opportunities in our area.”
The new training room is a big improvement over the kitchen, with multiple roundtables, a smart screen, white board, and work stations. There are also our dedicated mentor-trainers that work with Bill. They have developed a comprehensive training curriculum and provide whole class lectures, demonstrations with real hardware and equipment, and virtual reality modules. Carolina Air has everything in place to provide first class training to ensure its team is up to date and new technicians get the support they need.
“We first work with each technician to ensure they receive their EPA certification” which is a requirement to work with refrigerants, “and we work with all our techs to obtain NATE certification.” NATE is the nation’s largest nonprofit certification organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) technicians and is the gold standard in the industry. In addition to certification training, Carolina Air uses its training program to supplement hands-on learning that newer team members acquire in the field with experienced technicians. Through both before-the-job training and targeted follow up sessions, Carolina Air ensures technicians are prepared to do the job right.
Bill believes that there are tremendous opportunities for people starting a career in the HVAC industry, and Carolina Air is positioned to make a difference for new people in the field. “We have people start with us just out of high school”, says Bill, “and we will train them to be in a truck and doing preventive maintenance 90 days”. Carolina Air also partners with the Apprenticeship SC Program and the TCL Scholarship Program.
Bill Duggan,
Carolina Air Chief Training Officer
