FOUNDATIONAL HVAC TRACK
From zero to
apprentice-ready in 6 months.
6 monthly courses. 30 video lessons. OSHA 10 access, EPA 608 exam access, and required textbook — all an all-inclusive training package included. Real lab challenges with photo and video review by working techs. Built and taught by two HVAC instructors with 33+ years of combined trade experience and active Florida licensure.
WHAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DO
By the time you finish.
Diagnose and service real systems.
Walk into a residential or light-commercial service call with the diagnostic process working techs use — refrigerant cycle, electrical, airflow, controls — and know how to systematically find faults instead of guessing.
Hold OSHA 10 access, EPA 608 exam access, and a required textbook (all included).
OSHA 10 access, OSHA-10 Construction, and Required Textbook Included — the credentials every working HVAC tech in America carries, and the ones service managers actually look for on a resume.
Show a portfolio of documented lab work.
Photos and video of you brazing, charging, diagnosing, and installing — reviewed and signed off by working techs. The kind of evidence that turns an interview into a job offer.
Operate professionally inside the trade.
Code awareness, jobsite safety, customer interaction, tool discipline, and the professional standards that separate the techs who last from the ones who wash out at year two.
STRAIGHT TALK
Who this is for.
Who this isn't.
People serious about the trade.
- Tired of being broke and ready to commit to a real career path
- Willing to put in 8-10 hours a week across the 6-month program
- Want certifications that actually get you hired, not wall art
- Comfortable working with their hands, willing to learn safety discipline
- Looking to make a living for themselves, not chasing a degree
People looking for shortcuts.
- Anyone expecting to skip the lab work and still call themselves trained
- People who want a guaranteed job placement we can't promise
- Anyone who wants pure self-study with no instructor interaction
- Career browsers without the bandwidth to commit time
- People looking for a degree-equivalent credential — this isn't that
6 MONTHS · 30 VIDEO LESSONS
Six months, month by month.
Safety, Tools & Professionalism
OSHA safety & PPE, job-site hazards, basic HVAC tools, brazing/oxygen-acetylene awareness, customer communication, and trade professionalism. 5 video lessons, worksheets, quizzes, and a monthly exam.
HVAC System Fundamentals
The refrigeration cycle, residential split systems, air handlers, evaporator coils, filters, drains, condensers, compressors, and thermostat basics. 5 lessons, worksheets, quizzes, monthly exam.
Electrical Diagnostics & OSHA 10
Multimeter basics, electrical safety, low/high voltage, wiring diagrams, thermostat wiring, capacitors, contactors, relays, transformers, plus your OSHA 10 readiness review. 5 lessons + monthly exam.
Installation, Maintenance & EPA Intro
Install process overview, air handler & condenser support, preventative maintenance, coil/blower cleaning, service-call flow, maintenance plans, and EPA 608 introduction. 5 lessons + monthly exam.
Field/Lab Readiness & EPA Prep
Job-site rules, student boundaries, chain of command, working around electrical/customers/property, field observation, incident reporting, apprentice conduct, and EPA 608 prep. 5 lessons + monthly exam.
Certification, Career & Final Test
EPA 608 final review, OSHA final safety review, resume & interview skills, career growth, ethical sales, final technical review, final competency checklist, and graduation next steps. 5 lessons + final exam.
ALL-INCLUSIVE TUITION
Everything's included in tuition.
No upsells. No add-on packages. Your tuition covers OSHA 10 access, EPA 608 exam access, the required textbook, and every certificate of completion — coordinated through approved providers.
Your OSHA 10 access is purchased and assigned through an approved third-party OSHA training provider. Tru Tradesman's Institute funds and coordinates your access and prepares you for it — the provider issues the card.
Your EPA 608 exam access is provided through an approved third-party testing provider. We prepare you across the program and coordinate your access — the testing provider administers the exam. Passing is up to you.
The required hard-copy textbook (Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Technology, 9th Ed.) is included, plus a monthly Certificate of Completion for each of the 6 months and your final Tru Tradesman's Institute Certificate of Completion.
Tru Tradesman's Institute is a training program. Completion does not guarantee employment, income, licensure, contractor qualification, EPA certification, OSHA card issuance, or authorization to perform regulated work independently. OSHA 10 and EPA 608 credentials are issued by approved third-party providers, not by Tru Tradesman's Institute.
HOW IT WORKS
The way it actually runs.
Self-paced. On your schedule.
Watch on your lunch break. Watch at midnight. Re-watch as many times as it takes. The program runs 6 months with monthly milestones — plan on 8-10 hours a week to stay on pace and move through one month at a time.
Real lab challenges, not multiple choice.
You'll diagnose actual systems on video, photograph your work, and submit it for review by a working tech. We don't grade with a Scantron — we grade with the same judgment a service manager uses on a job site.
Community of practicing techs.
When you're stuck on a job at 2 PM and the homeowner needs an answer, you have somewhere to ask. Practicing techs, instructors, fellow students. The part nobody else gives you.
WHO TEACHES
Two HVAC instructors. 33+ years combined.
- 25 years in the trades
- U.S. Veteran
- EPA 608 Certified
- OSHA 30 Certified
- PLC Instructor / Northbridge Instructor
Focus: HVAC fundamentals, safety, jobsite discipline, troubleshooting, refrigerant safety, electrical awareness, PLC fundamentals, and student professionalism.
- Florida-Licensed HVAC Contractor
- License #: CAC1819148 (Active)
- Licensed since July 2017
- Air Conditioning Contractor — Florida
- Residential & Commercial HVAC
Focus: Residential and commercial HVAC installation and service, code compliance, licensing requirements, and the regulatory side of the trade.
ENROLLMENT QUESTIONS
Before you reach out.
No. The foundational track assumes zero prior knowledge. Module 1 starts with safety fundamentals and Module 3 builds you up from how a refrigerator works — the same physics every HVAC system runs on. About a third of the people we’re built for have never picked up a multimeter before they start.
Self-paced. Most students treating it like a part-time job (8-10 hours per week) finish in 6-9 months. Sprint students who go full-time finish in 4-6 months.
For the first half of the course, almost nothing. By module 6 you’ll want a basic multimeter (~$30) and a thermometer (~$20). For the lab challenges in modules 7-9, you’ll need a starter HVAC tool kit (~$300-$400 — manifold gauges, vacuum pump basics, recovery jug, hand tools). We send a complete tool checklist with direct purchase links once you enroll, so you don’t waste money on the wrong gear.
A certificate from us doesn’t guarantee anyone a job — nobody’s certificate does, and any program promising one is lying. Finishing this track means you’ll have your EPA 608, your OSHA-10, your Required Textbook Included cert, real diagnostic skills, a portfolio of documented lab work, and a community of working techs who hire helpers and apprentices. The program is built to make you the easiest hire on a service manager’s desk. The rest is on you.
The EPA 608 prep we include is the federal exam every HVAC tech in America takes — we prepare you to sit for it; the EPA issues the certification, not us. State licensing varies by state. Most states require a combination of training hours, on-the-job experience, and an exam. Our training counts toward the training-hours portion in most states. Bring up your specific state when you reach out and we’ll walk you through what counts where you live.
You ask. Every lesson has a comment thread where instructors and fellow students answer questions. The community runs an open forum where working techs in the field weigh in too. Office hours run twice a month with the lead instructor. You’re not figuring it out alone — that’s the whole point.
30-day money-back guarantee on the foundational track, no questions asked. If you decide within the first 30 days the program isn’t right for you, you get your money back. Specific terms are detailed at enrollment so read them before you commit.
Because every situation is different. Payment plans, family circumstances, employer reimbursement programs, GI Bill considerations, regional adjustments — these all change what makes sense for you. We’d rather have a conversation and walk you through what’s available than play pricing games or trap you into a fixed offer that doesn’t fit. Reach out and we’ll give you straight numbers for your situation.
Those are content-first platforms. They focus heavily on video volume. We focus on community, lab work, and getting you ready to actually walk onto a job site without freezing up. Different approach for different students. If you want pure self-study video, theirs is fine. If you want working techs around you while you learn, ours is built for that.
Two doors.
Door one: talk to a working tech, get pricing for your situation, walk through fit.
Door two: watch the first three lessons free and prove this is real before you spend a dollar.
Either way: stop staying broke.