Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic Certificate is a foundation in Upgrading/upskilling programme offered by Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada. The programme runs for 25 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 4,200 per total for local students.
This one-year pre-apprenticeship certificate runs full-time over 25 weeks (750 hours) of daytime classes at Okanagan College's Vernon or Penticton campuses and introduces students with little or no prior experience to the installation, maintenance, repair, and overhaul of residential and commercial central air conditioning systems along with related heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment. Several intakes are scheduled across 2027 and into early 2028, split between the two campuses with 16 to 18 seats per intake. On completion, graduates may receive credit toward Level 1 apprenticeship technical training recognized by SkilledTradesBC, giving them a foundation before entering formal apprenticeship. Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic is a five-year Red Seal trade combining on-the-job experience with technical training Levels 2 through 4; completing the full apprenticeship makes a technician eligible to sit the Interprovincial Red Seal Examination. The program suits people with good hand-eye coordination, strong problem-solving ability, and attention to detail who want a structured campus-based introduction to refrigeration and air conditioning work before pursuing an apprenticeship with an employer.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry to the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic pre-apprenticeship program requires B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent, or admission as a mature applicant at least 19 years of age and out of secondary school for at least one year. Academic prerequisites: English 10 with a minimum of 50 per cent (alternatives accepted per the College's equivalency list), and mathematics — a minimum of 50 per cent in Apprenticeship and Workplace Mathematics 10, Workplace Mathematics 10, Foundations of Mathematics and Pre-Calculus 10, or Mathematics 10, or a minimum of 50 per cent on the College's Trades Entrance Assessment (TEA) mathematics test if the math course was completed more than seven years ago. The TEA is described as an online, multiple-choice, timed test allowing one hour per section. No IELTS, TOEFL or other standardized English-proficiency test is specified; the language requirement is met through the secondary English course grade or its published equivalents.
Application Details
Start Date:January, February and August
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC (a $30 CAD fee): Okanagan College sets no fixed closing date for most programmes in the 2026-27/2027-28 cycle. Applications for a Fall intake open at 8:30 a.m. on October's first business day of the preceding year, and for a Winter intake at 8:30 a.m. on February's first business day of the preceding year (exceptions apply); Practical Nursing's January intake opens at 9:00 a.m. on April's first business day of the preceding year. Most programmes accept applications until seats fill, though Nursing and Dental programmes set their own fixed or ranked deadlines on their own pages. International applicants also apply through EducationPlannerBC, paying a $100 CAD per-programme fee; the College publishes no institution-wide international closing date and directs applicants to each programme's own page. Admission is otherwise rolling. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
