HVAC Students Provide the Skills the Community Needs

Dillon Buchanan was only a few weeks into his first semester as an HVAC student at Collin College’s Technical Campus when a family friend asked if he could diagnose why her air conditioning unit was blowing out hot air in the 100-plus degree heat of summer.

When he checked it, he found that the outdoor fan was not turning. Based on what he had learned, he figured it could be a power issue, which did not seem likely, or the capacitor that allows the fan 
to spin. 

“That’s a common part that goes out in the summer,” he said. 

When he inspected the capacitor, he noticed it had expanded and recognized that as a sign it had failed. He purchased a new one from the company that usually maintained his friend’s A/C unit and installed it himself. The cooled air started blowing again, and he got a surprise call from the A/C company shortly afterward. 

“After I did that, the general manager contacted me and asked if I wanted a job,” Buchanan said. 

As a former Army aircraft mechanic using the GI Bill to pay for college, Buchanan brought some mechanical knowledge to the college’s HVAC program, but he said he didn’t know anything about HVAC. That changed with just a semester in the program. 

“I’ve learned a ton,” he said. “I feel like right now I could go out and get a job with the little experience I do have. I have the basic tools and knowledge I would need.”

Between the desire for a degree and other commitments making full-time employment difficult, Buchanan has decided to stick with Collin’s program. But his is hardly the only story of companies that want to hire Collin students early in their academic careers. 

The college works regularly with local businesses through its workforce advisory committees, many of which hire Collin students out of the college’s programs. 

“I got my first HVAC job eight weeks after starting the Collin HVAC program, attending class at night,” Todd Bulthuis, a program graduate, said, adding that the knowledge and experience gained through the program opened the door to many different opportunities. “Shortly after graduation, I got a job working for Daikin Applied in Plymouth, Minnesota, as an engineering technician.”

He runs tests, constructs necessary frameworks, and changes components on prototype commercial units that utilize a new generation of refrigerant. He credited the program and the facilities at the Technical Campus with preparing him for the unique position. 

“Collin helped me prepare for my new career by providing an in-depth overview of all aspects of the HVAC trade, not just standard residential, so that I was able to gain knowledge and familiarity with the kind of equipment I now work with on a daily basis,” Bulthuis said. 

The program has close to 10,000 square feet of lab space and $1.2 million dollars in commercial and residential training equipment, including 32 operational air conditioning systems matched with 28 systems dedicated for tear down and parts replacement. It also offers training on commercial ice machines, installation and maintenance of walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers, commercial display cases, and industrial air conditioning equipment. The HVAC department also has eight commercial trainers for building automation, four trainers for advanced motor controls, and is implementing the use of two commercial trainers for laser alignment and vibration analysis of commercial drive motors. 

“The most important thing I learned is that if you apply yourself and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience made available to you through this program, there are all kinds of opportunities and career paths available in this industry,” Bulthuis said.