5 Best HVAC Schools in Charlotte, NC

About the School

As a collaboration between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Central Piedmont Community College, and the Rebuilding Opportunities in Construction organization with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, this program is specialized to help high school youth and adults to prepare to enter or reenter the workforce.

This partnership has given way to the Goodwill Construction Skills Training Center.

Here, students can develop their HVAC chops before entering the workforce.

They will also receive wraparound services to address other gaps in their lives.

Courses Offered

During the program, which lasts eleven weeks, students will attend evening classes several days a week on crucial topics for the field.

The hands-on training from NCCER-certified teachers includes training in general electrical safety, HVAC systems, planning, soldering, brazing, piping, and more.

About the School

Global Vocational Training Center is a training organization that has received its certification through the NCCER (National Center Construction Education Research) board.

They might be called “Global Vocational Training Center,” but they are located conveniently in Charlotte, NC.

They serve a wide range of different folks including young people, those fresh out of high school, the formerly incarcerated, veterans, unemployed/underemployed, and others who are having a hard time getting back into the workforce.

To give students the best chance of successfully re-entering the workforce, this training center combines certified classroom instruction, laboratory settings, and apprenticeships.

Students are given more than training–they are given the tools they need to excel.

Courses Offered

At the Global Vocational Training Center, students can expect to take a range of courses to fully prepare them for life as HVAC professionals.

They receive basic certifications such as the EPA 608 Certification, Type I Certification, and Type II Certification.

For those who want to work with certain kinds of materials like chillers or other low-pressure refrigerants, Type III Certification is encouraged.

To increase the number of opportunities that their students remain eligible to seek, this school also suggests that students obtain the EPA Universal Certification and NATE Certification.

They are more than a bare-bones essential HVAC training program, which makes them ideal for motivated students whose main goal is to become fully employed after a life transition.

About the School

The Urban League CC, also known as “ULCC,” is on a mission to champion underserved communities, particularly African Americans and other historically marginalized populations.

They aim to help their students work towards equality in both social spheres and the workforce.

As a non-profit, they have spent the past four decades uplifting those they work with through a range of different programs.

They offer training in the trades, entrepreneurship assistance, placement for jobs after training, and more.

Programs offered

At ULCC, you’ll find a range of different programs and training opportunities.

For HVAC certification, they offer hands-on education that prepares students to enter the workforce straight out of their certification program.

Students in this program will learn about mechanical refrigeration, theories surrounding heating and cooling, electrical safety, controls, and more.

Recently, the program expanded their course offerings to include renewable energy as a subject of instruction.

Before students graduate, they will be able to sit for the National EPA Section 608 Universal Certification.

This ensures that they will have the skills and the proper documentation to show that they are ready to work in a variety of HVAC settings.

About the School

If you don’t mind commuting about an hour and a half from Charlotte, NC to your HVAC training program, Guilford Technical Community College can be an affordable, effective choice.

This technical community college has locations in Greensboro, NC, Jamestown, NC, High Point, NC, Colfax, NC and other special locations for certain programs.

For those who aren’t transitioning to a career in HVAC as a result of underemployment or other factors that qualify them for non-profit programs, community college can be a relatively inexpensive way to get your training.

Courses offered

GTCC offers Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Technology, AAS programs that require 67 credits to graduate.

Students who wish to complete fewer credits can get a diploma in the same studies with 46 credits.

For basic air conditioning training, students can complete a 17-credit certificate program.

The flexibility makes this ideal for someone on a limited budget or time constraint.

Regardless of their program, all students will complete essential courses such as intro to refrigeration, electricity from an HVAC/refrigeration lens, comfort cooling, refrigerant, and heat pump tech.

Higher levels of education will involve greater detail and specialized coursework.

About this school

OMITT is a trade school in Charlotte, NC that offers a wide range of programs and apprenticeships including welding, carpentry, electrical, and HVAC.

They partner with other local organizations such as Goodwill of Southern Piedmont and Habitat for Humanities.

Courses Offered

In this twenty-six week certification program, students will take a range of courses to prepare them for an HVAC position.

Some classes offered in this program include topics such as maintaining mechanical equipment, electrical theory essentials, introductory HVAC formulas, safety, controls, and more.

The coursework is fairly comprehensive, which will make students stand out from the crowd when they start applying for positions.