industry news & smtc updates
Industry News, Training Center Updates, and member spotlights. Explore what it’s like to join, and what we stand for at the Nor Cal SMW Training Center.
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Third-year HVAC Service apprentices explore carbon, health, and equality through ASHRAE training, connecting service skills with better building performance.
Our third-year Service apprentices participated in an ASHRAE training meeting focused on carbon, health, and equality—expanding their understanding of how HVAC systems affect both the environment and the communities they serve.
These topics connect technical service skills with broader industry priorities: reducing carbon emissions, supporting healthy indoor environments, and ensuring access to comfortable building spaces. Understanding these connections helps apprentices see how their work can contribute to better building performance and occupant well-being.
By connecting classroom instruction with industry learning opportunities, our program prepares apprentices to think beyond the equipment. They are developing the technical knowledge and broader perspective needed to service increasingly complex systems and meet the demands of a changing HVAC industry.
First-Year Apprentices Build a Strong Foundation with OSHA 30 Training
Our first-year Sheet Metal, Service, and Testing, Adjusting and Balancing (TAB) apprentices are completing OSHA 30 training—an important step in developing safe, skilled, and productive industry professionals.
Throughout the training, apprentices learn how to recognize workplace hazards, follow essential safety practices, and help maintain safe and efficient jobsites. Introducing these principles during the first year reinforces our program’s commitment to safety, responsibility, and professional excellence.
By combining comprehensive safety education with hands-on technical training, our apprenticeship program prepares students to enter the workforce with the knowledge, confidence, and jobsite awareness needed to succeed in today’s construction industry.
Advanced VFD and Electrical Controls Training for Third-Year Service Apprentices
Our third-year Sheet Metal Service Apprentices are strengthening their electrical and HVAC controls knowledge through advanced, hands-on Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) training.
During this exercise, apprentices wired a momentary push-button switch into a holding circuit used to start and maintain operation of a VFD. They then configured the control sequence so that once the drive reached its commanded speed, an output signal energized a 120-volt indicator light. This provided a clear visual confirmation that the system had achieved the intended operating condition.
The project challenged apprentices to apply electrical theory while developing practical skills in control-circuit wiring, VFD operation, relay logic, sequence of operation, electrical schematics, and system troubleshooting. Students also practiced safe testing procedures and verified each stage of the circuit before placing the system into operation.
By combining modern HVAC technology with realistic troubleshooting scenarios, our apprenticeship program prepares students to confidently install, service, and diagnose today’s increasingly sophisticated building systems. This productive training develops the technical ability, problem-solving skills, and attention to detail required of highly qualified service professionals.