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California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

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HVAC Technician

Richard N. Slawson Occupational Center - LAUSD · Bell, CA

Cost
$4,338
Length
25 weeks
Working 6 months later
65%

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled
358
Finished the program
72%Based on 369 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later
65%Typical California program: 69% of 1,690 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Earnings in one quarter after
$15,557A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.Typical California program: $10,900 of 1,339 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.

The job this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Where California publishes a separate figure for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers

Job ads may call this: Refrigeration Mechanic · Refrigeration Operator · Service Technician (Service Tech) · A/C Tech (Air Conditioning Technician)

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

  • Test electrical circuits or components for continuity, using electrical test equipment.
  • Comply with all applicable standards, policies, or procedures, such as safety procedures or the maintenance of a clean work area.
  • Study blueprints, design specifications, or manufacturers' recommendations to ascertain the configuration of heating or cooling equipment components and to ensure the proper installation of components.
  • Discuss heating or cooling system malfunctions with users to isolate problems or to verify that repairs corrected malfunctions.
Show 4 more things this job involves
  • Connect heating or air conditioning equipment to fuel, water, or refrigerant source to form complete circuit.
  • Adjust system controls to settings recommended by manufacturer to balance system.
  • Recommend, develop, or perform preventive or general maintenance procedures, such as cleaning, power-washing, or vacuuming equipment, oiling parts, or changing filters.
  • Inspect and test systems to verify system compliance with plans and specifications or to detect and locate malfunctions.

What this pays in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)

Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.

AreaThe lowest-paid tenth earn underHalf earn underThe highest-paid tenth earn over
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$47,909$75,050$106,620
Across California$48,278$74,612$112,144

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.

Typical pay in California
$74,612per yearLos Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: $65,590
Projected openings
37,750Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 6,390
Projected change
+12.8%
Usually needs
Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first
None
Training after you are hired
More than a year

New hires are trained on the job for more than a year after they start. The classroom part is the beginning of this work, not the whole of it.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Program details

This program provides in-person instruction only.

This competency-based course is for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) technology. It provides students with project-based experiences in air conditioning and integrated systems. Technical instruction includes an introduction, reviews of workplace safety policies and procedures, and employability skills, as well as introductory entrepreneurship. Emphasis is placed on cooling control systems, commercial air conditioning, integrated systems, and lab work focusing on the service, diagnostic, and repair techniques used in the HVAC industry. The competencies in this course are aligned with the California High School Academic Content Standards and the California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards.

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

  • Slawson AJCCAffiliate site

    Phone: 323-729-6400

    5500 Rickenbacker Road,Room A201 (Richard N. Slawson Occupational Center)Bell, CA 90201about 1.8 miles away

    Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m

  • Southeast Los Angeles Americas` Job Center of CaliforniaComprehensive center

    Phone: 323-586-4700

    4354 Tweedy Blvd1st FloorSouth Gate, CA 90280about 3.2 miles away

    Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm

    Has a veterans' representative

  • East LA/West San Gabriel Valley AJCCComprehensive center

    Phone: 323-877-7122

    5301 Whittier Blvd2nd Floor.Chase BankLos Angeles, CA 90022about 3.5 miles away

    Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm No appointment necessary

    Has a veterans' representative

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you