A refrigeration apprentice learns commercial refrigeration riding with a technician on calls to kitchens, supermarkets and cold storage warehouses. They start by carrying gear, cleaning coils, clearing drains and stocking the truck, then move on to recovery, gauges and brazing while a certified tech watches.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, HVAC and plumbing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Refrigeration Install & Service - Refrigeration Apprentice
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
Service Manager
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
You'll learn commercial refrigeration by working beside an experienced technician on real calls. You'll carry tools, clean coils, help with recovery and evacuation, and learn to read gauges and wiring diagrams, working toward EPA Section 608 certification and a service truck of your own.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assist technicians on repairs and maintenance visits in restaurants, grocery stores and cold storage sites.
Clean condenser and evaporator coils, clear drain lines, and replace door gaskets and filters.
Set up recovery machines, vacuum pumps and gauges, and work on refrigerant circuits only under a certified technician's direct supervision.
Keep the truck stocked, organized and clean, and keep track of tools and test equipment.
Take photos and notes for the technician's ticket.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Ride with your assigned technician and help prepare for each call.
Carry tools, parts and cylinders to rooftops, machine rooms and walk-ins.
Practice brazing, wiring checks and gauge readings while your technician watches.
Restock the truck and log parts used.
Complete assigned training: [your training program].
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Skills checklist items signed off: [your target].
EPA certification earned on schedule: [your target].
Training hours completed: [your target].
On-time starts: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
Comfort with hand tools and an interest in how machines work.
Willing to earn EPA Section 608 certification within [your timeline].
Valid driver's license, or able to get one within [your timeline].
Follows safety rules and step-by-step instructions.
6. Preferred Experience
An HVACR or refrigeration program at a trade school or community college.
EPA Section 608 certification already earned.
Experience in electrical, building maintenance or restaurant equipment work.
7. Physical Requirements
Carry ladders, tools and recovery equipment up to [50] pounds.
Climb ladders and roof hatches, kneel, and work in tight spaces.
Work in freezers, hot kitchens and on rooftops in all weather.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Field-based, riding with a technician in a company truck.
Hours follow your technician's schedule, including some nights and weekends: [schedule].
Classroom or online training: [when and where].
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new refrigeration apprentice gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Apprentices here learn inside working kitchens and stores, where a warm box means spoiled food. Federal and state rules decide how soon they can open a refrigerant circuit.
The refrigerant exemption needs registration
An apprentice without a Section 608 card may open a refrigerant circuit only if they're on the books as a registered apprentice, either federally through the Labor Department or with a state council it recognizes. A certified tech has to watch over the work closely and continually. That status lasts two years from the first registration date. The rule puts the duty on both people: the supervising tech and the apprentice each answer for following it. A helper who isn't registered can't hook up gauges until they hold a card. Source: 40 CFR 82.161: Technician certification and the apprentice exemption (Cornell LII).
Some states license the apprentice too
In Massachusetts, a refrigeration apprentice must hold a state apprentice license, be registered with the Division of Apprentice Standards, and work for a Massachusetts refrigeration contractor. Their hours count toward the technician license only while all three are true. If your state works this way, finish the paperwork before the first day so early hours aren't lost. Ask your state licensing office what applies where you work. Source: Mass.gov: Refrigeration technician license, including apprentice requirements.
Each person on the call hangs a lock
Coil cleaning, fan swaps and heater work happen on equipment that can start on its own when a defrost timer or thermostat calls. When a crew services equipment, OSHA's lockout rule gives each worker the protection of their own lock. With a group lockout, every authorized worker clips a personal lock onto the group lockbox or similar device as their part of the job starts, and removes it only when their part is done. Train the apprentice on energy sources first, then have them lock out beside the tech. Source: 29 CFR 1910.147: Control of hazardous energy, lockout and tagout (Cornell LII).
The ride from the shop is work time
Apprentices often meet the tech at the shop, load parts and ride to the first call. Under federal wage rules, when a worker must report to a set place for instructions or to pick up tools, the travel from there to the job counts as hours worked. So does travel between calls. Start the apprentice's clock at the shop, not at the first store. Source: 29 CFR 785.38: Travel that is all in the day's work (Cornell LII).
Helper tasks teach the system
Ask the tech to explain each cleaning job as cause and effect. A dirty condenser coil drives head pressure up. A plugged drain line in a freezer turns into ice. A torn door gasket lets warm, wet air in and frosts the coil. Once the apprentice sees how each problem starts, the routine work becomes their first lessons in diagnosis.
How much refrigeration apprentices make
The closest BLS group for refrigeration apprentices is Helpers--Installation, maintenance, and repair workers. Helpers--Installation, maintenance, and repair workers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $19.02 an hour ($39,550 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $39,630 median for Helpers--Installation, maintenance, and repair workers in all industries. About 25,180 of the 95,580 Helpers--Installation, maintenance, and repair workers in that survey work for HVAC and plumbing contractors.
An hourly wage with overtime. The figures here are for installation and repair helpers, because BLS folds apprentices into the trade they're learning. Tie raises to the skills checklist in the template so the apprentice can see the next step.
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$39,550$39,550 median Middle half $35,680–$45,760 10th–90th $30,430–$51,040
All industries
$39,630$39,630 median Middle half $34,910–$46,890 10th–90th $29,310–$55,890
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$30,430
$35,680
$39,550
$45,760
$51,040
All industries
$29,310
$34,910
$39,630
$46,890
$55,890
BLS doesn’t publish pay for refrigeration contractors on their own. These figures cover plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Asks why a box ran warm, not only which part the tech changed
Follows each kitchen's and store's food safety and site rules
Holds to a lockout step even when a store manager is in a hurry
Keeps the truck's tools, parts and cylinders tracked without reminders
Writes clear notes and takes useful photos for the tech's ticket
Teach these on the job
Setting up a recovery machine, vacuum pump and gauges
Brazing copper with a nitrogen purge
Reading wiring diagrams for defrost timers, contactors and fans
Coil, drain and ice machine cleaning steps
Logging parts and refrigerant on your tickets
Day one, the apprentice needs a basic hand tool kit, a flashlight and gloves for freezer work, plus a pocket thermometer and notebook for box temperatures. The gauges, recovery machine, torch and nitrogen stay on the tech's truck. List the starter tools you expect and any you supply.
Refrigeration apprentice interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Staying within your role
Your technician is on the roof, and the kitchen manager asks you to reset the walk-in's beeping controller. What do you do?
A strong answer: Politely says they'll get the technician, doesn't change settings on their own, and passes along exactly what the manager said.
Behavioral · Learning new skills
Refrigeration work takes practice, like learning to braze a clean joint. Tell me about a skill you learned at work, school or volunteering that took a lot of practice.
A strong answer: Explains how they practiced, how they got feedback, and how they knew they'd improved.
Set each target from what your last apprentices reached, then review it every month with the apprentice and their technician.
Skills checklist items signed off
Items on your written skills list that the technician watched the apprentice do correctly, such as setting up recovery or brazing a joint, counted each month.
EPA certification earned on schedule
Whether the apprentice passed the Section 608 exam for the type you need by the date in their plan. Track their registration date too, since the exemption runs out after two years.
Training hours completed
Classroom, online and maker course hours finished against the plan, from attendance records. In a registered program, match them to what your sponsor reports.
On-time starts
Days the apprentice clocks in by start time, wherever the day begins, out of days scheduled, from weekly time records.
Career path
Refrigeration or HVACR studentTakes a school program in refrigeration basics, or starts as a shop or warehouse hand.
Refrigeration apprenticeWorks beside a tech on calls and earns the EPA card.
Does a refrigeration apprentice need EPA 608 certification?
Not on day one, as long as they're registered and closely supervised. Apprentice status lasts only two years from first registration, so book the exam well before then, for the same card type your techs carry. If you work in Massachusetts, aim for Universal: the state's technician license application asks for a Universal card. The card has no expiration date, so it follows them from job to job.
How much does a refrigeration apprentice make?
Helpers--Installation, maintenance, and repair workers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $19.02 an hour ($39,550 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $35,680 and $45,760 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Should we register our refrigeration apprenticeship?
It's worth weighing. Registered programs combine paid work, a mentor, structured on-the-job learning, classroom study and an industry credential. Sign-off comes from the federal Labor Department or from your state's apprenticeship agency. Registration also matters for refrigerant work, because the EPA apprentice exemption only covers registered apprentices. In a state like Massachusetts, it decides whether hours count toward a license.
Can a refrigeration apprentice work alone?
Not on refrigerant. Any work that could release it needs a certified tech supervising closely, unless the apprentice holds their own card. Tasks off the circuit, such as cleaning coils, changing gaskets or restocking, are your call. Allow them only after lockout and ladder training, and with a phone check-in. State licensing rules may also limit solo work, so check before you split a pair up.
What should a refrigeration apprentice job ad include?
Name the account types, such as grocery racks, kitchen walk-ins or cold storage warehouses, so applicants know the work includes freezers and roofs. Say whether they'll be a registered apprentice, since that decides when they can work on refrigerant. Give the months until the EPA exam and until their own truck, what raises are tied to, and whether the day starts at the shop.
