Commercial Gas Heating Certificate (Credit)
College of the Desert · Palm Desert, CA
- Cost
- $894
- Length
- 32 weeks
- Working 6 months later
- Not reported
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
- 8,692
- Finished the program
- 88%Based on 1,837 people
- Working 6 months later
- 4%
- Earnings in one quarter after
- Not reported
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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)
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.
| Area | The lowest-paid tenth earn under | Half earn under | The highest-paid tenth earn over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $48,082 | $66,118 | $98,622 |
| Across California | $48,278 | $74,612 | $112,144 |
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) 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 yearRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: $65,253
- Projected openings
- 37,750Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 6,130
- 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.
The COMMERCIAL GAS HEATING CERTIFICATE offers the students the opportunity to learn the academic, occupational, communication, and technical training skills needed by entry level technicians in the COMMERCIAL Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration industry. Students completing this certificate will develop multiple skills that include real-world knowledge of: Combustion theory and application, combustion analysis, equipment tools, heating systems and components, electrical troubleshooting, heating safety, fuel properties, carbon monoxide measurements, safety, and health effects, building pressure measurements, static pressure, pressure imbalances, combustion appliance zone testing, furnace installation and service. This curriculum was developed in collaboration with several community colleges and industry partners to provide a path to various COMMERCIAL Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration career areas including, but not limited to: facilities maintenance, building engineer, manufacturing, design, installation, service, sales, and entrepreneurship.
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
Indio Youth Opportunity CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 760-802-6059
44-199 Monroe StreetIndio, CA 92201about 9.6 miles away
Hours: Monday -Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Indio Workforce Development Center AJCCComprehensive center
Phone: 760-863-2500
44-199 Monroe StreetSuite BIndio, CA 92201about 9.7 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm Closed Holidays
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 →