Electrical

How to become a heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician

Official title: Heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician

Also called: HVAC technician, Heat pump installer, Heat pump technician, Air conditioning technician, Refrigeration engineer

Heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians install, service and repair refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and equipment.

Main tasks

Install refrigeration and air conditioning systems
Service refrigeration and air conditioning systems
Repair heating and cooling equipment
Test system parts for safety
Replace worn and damaged parts
Adjust systems to work better
Talk with customers about equipment problems
Read plans and installation diagrams

How to become one

You need to do training to become a heat pump, refrigeration and air conditioning technician. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Required: an Electrical Service Technician practising licence; a Refrigerant Handling Licence. Other requirements: to do an apprenticeship in refrigeration, heating and air conditioning; a driver licence. Registration body: Electrical Workers Registration Board.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship in refrigeration, heating and air conditioning. TEC links this job to study in electrical and electronic engineering and technology. New Zealand apprenticeship (NZQA level 4). Qualifications: NZ Cert in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (Trade). Usually 4 years. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $99,000 a year one year after study and $105,000 five years after; 94% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Registration or licence: An Electrical Service Technician practising licence; a Refrigerant Handling Licence. Registration body: Electrical Workers Registration Board (https://www.ewrb.govt.nz/).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $60,000 to $99,000 a year (median $77,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $124,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $37.02 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics: 1,488 at the 2018 Census and 2,748 at the 2023 Census (+84.7%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 2,600 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics, 13% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics work (2023 Census): Auckland 35.7%, Canterbury 13.8%, and Waikato 10.5%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician?

How much does a heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $77,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $60,000 to $99,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician grown in New Zealand?

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technician?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026