Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are switching to heat pumps as a way to cut their energy bills and contribute to the fight against climate change. The increased demand in heat pumps, backed by a range of government programming, is supporting good jobs in a cleaner economy. Installing and maintaining this technology requires new skills from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians.
Today, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $500,000 in federal funding to support the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) to help address the skills gap for heat pump proficiency. She was joined by Tony Van Bynen, Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora, Ontario, and Nancy McKeraghan, Principal of Canco ClimateCare and appointed Chair of HRAI.
The current residential HVAC workforce employs thousands of technicians whose skills need to be updated as the heating and cooling industry evolves. This investment by the Government of Canada will help HRAI to:
- enable the industry to take on more work in the growing clean economy;
- create a benchmark of skills and knowledge needed to safely and competently install and service electric heat pumps;
- identify the skills gap in the existing workforce;
- work collaboratively with colleges to develop training that can be delivered in an accelerated and flexible format to address the identified gaps; and
- pilot this training with a small group of gas and licensed technicians in Ontario.
By supporting initiatives like these, we are ensuring that the HVAC workforce remains relevant, stays employed, and has the skills to safely install and maintain heat pump technology as Canada moves toward a low carbon economy.
