Instructor Stories: Jonathon Dale on the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Program
Jonathon Dale is the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) Instructor at the Clearfield County Career & Technology Center (CCCTC). At the end of this hands-on, two-year program, HVACR students will have 1,250 hours of training that includes OSHA 10, S/P2 Construction, Ladder Safety through the American Ladder Institute, and the opportunity to take the EPA 608 Refrigeration Certification Exam, the IAQ Certification Exam or the 410 Refrigerant Certification Exam.
Mr. Dale attended West Branch Area High School and also attended the Clearfield County Career and Technology Center’s Diesel Technology program. He went on to attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology, earning his Associate Degree in HVACR and plumbing certification while helping his father remodel and repair their home. This led to Mr. Dale wanting to learn a trade.
Mr. Dale explained that he has been in the HVACR trade for 24 years and he wants to use his knowledge and experience to help students learn the skill and make them successful. He bases his curriculum on real-life scenarios in the trade and helps them become adept at working with specialty tools, pressure/temperature/electrical meters, and live HVACR equipment. The program is heavily delivered with hands-on lab projects. Mr. Dale says, “I am hoping the students see the passion for the trade that I have and how it can become a lifelong career path. I want them to know that hard work really does pay off.”
The HVACR program covers everything from soldering and brazing, to furnaces, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. In the program you will learn to install, trouble-shoot and repair the HVACR equipment along with adapting to changes in using technology to control thermostats using your phone or laptop. Mr. Dale explains that, not only can you become a HVACR or automated controls technician, but you can go into sales, become an estimator, an auditor, or contractor. Mr. Dale says that the more certifications you earn, the more valuable you become to an employer as HVACR careers are in high demand right now.