Photos taken by Prudencio Martinez-Mengel

By Prudencio Martinez-Mengel

Lenoir Community College offers Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration - North American Technician Excellence (HVACR-NATE) certification program in English and in Spanish, providing more opportunities for Spanish speaking students. LCC is also registered with NATE® as both an authorized training and testing provider.

“LCC is the only institution that offers the NATE training completely in Spanish, opening a window of opportunity to the Latino population, and attracting people from all over the region and out of state,” says Henry Perez, LCC HVACR instructor. “The final examinations are in English, but throughout the training even though students are trained in Spanish, there is help to understand the terminology in English and be ready for the testing.”

The HVACR-NATE program serves the Latino community through the Latino Education Center (Centro Educativo Latino) at LCC. It provides Latino students with quality training, through an innovative program and the latest in technology, industry recognized credentials, and accessible in their own language.

An experienced certified HVACR-NATE Master Technician and instructor, Perez has committed for years to educate and train students. “These students will be able to provide a service of excellence, once they complete their training and obtain a job in this industry,” he said. 

What does it mean to be HVACR-NATE certified? Perez said the HVACR-NATE certification, provides a technician with high-demand and essential professional skills, knowledge, and experience in the field of HVACR. NATE®, or North American Technician Excellence®, a nonprofit organization that certifies HVACR technicians through a series of knowledge and experience-based testing, then initiates follow-up training and testing every two years. According to the current market trends in North Carolina, an HVACR-NATE certified technician, can easily access positions, earning salaries that range from $42,000 to $150,000 a year, according to indeed.com.

The program provides approximately 200 hours of classroom theory and practical training in our HVACR labs. Students skills are constantly tested, through rigorous diagnostic, troubleshooting and repair hands-on exercises. The program also provides the students, with the latest in Virtual Reality technology and software from Interplay Learning, to complement their training. 

Interplay Learning is a company accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), and recognized by North American Technician Excellence (NATE®). They provide an immersive learning platform, SkillMill, that uses online and VR training tools for workforce development programs. The students access SkillMill in our computer labs, but also through our Meta Quest 2 VR headsets, which allows them to train in a field-like virtual reality environment. 

For more information on the HVACR-NATE program, contact Henry Perez at (252) 527-6223, ext. 415 or email hbperez03@lenoircc.edu. You can also contact Carlos Cotto, Associate Dean of Workforce Development and Latino Programs at (252) 527-6223, ext. 716 or email at cbcotto77@lenoircc.edu.