Portage Lakes Career Center (PLCC) in Uniontown, Ohio, is recognized for its commitment to quality smart diagnostic tool training as part of its adult HVAC curriculum. The 37-week night course contributes to growing and empowering the local HVAC workforce by offering an affordable, accredited education supplemented with $2,000 worth of tools (including smart tools). The suite of tools benefit students both in the classroom and in future HVAC-industry jobs. The program has earned a reputation among local contractors for the skill of its graduates, resulting in a 97% job placement rate for students who complete the program. With the skills and smart tools they receive and master through the program, graduates can commission and troubleshoot HVAC systems just as efficiently as their senior colleagues, often leading contractors to request smart tool training from PLCC for their other technicians. 

“Smart tools have helped us flatten the HVAC learning curve and halve the amount of time it usually takes for a new technician to become proficient in the field,” said PLCC Instructor Ben Chouinard. "Once you learn the analog diagnostic approaches and all the required math, then see how efficiently and accurately smart tools can do those calculations — there's no going back.”