New Tech Trades Programs at NNMC: Carpentry, Welding, HVAC

New certificate and associate degree programs prepare students for union pre-apprenticeships

Northern New Mexico College Technical Trades is excited to announce three new programs designed to prepare students for careers in high-paying, in-demand industries. HVAC Technology and Welding Technology programs launched at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester. Carpentry Technology is now open for registration for eight-week classes that start Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

All three programs were designed in conjunction with local unions to ensure students are trained to current industry standards. Graduates are eligible for one-year pre- apprenticeship programs, with could potentially reduce a four-year apprenticeship (leading to journeyman status) by one year. With tradespeople in high demand, graduates will have the tools to build rewarding, lifelong careers. 

“In the technical trades world, for every 30 journeymen that retire we’re replacing them with seven,” said Technical Trades Chair Joe Padilla. “So we’re not fulfilling the need of the retirement population right now. We’re trying to fill that gap.”

Carpentry Technology

Carpentry Technology is currently offered as an Associate of Applied Science (AAS), but the department is planning to launch a certificate program in Spring 2026. The classes offered this fall are foundational courses that can be applied toward either the associate degree or the upcoming certificate program. Completing either the AAS or certificate program will qualify graduates for pre-apprenticeship with Carpenters Local 1319 or prepare them for other professional opportunities. 

Carpentry classes will be taught by Gilbert Lopez, who has 47 years’ carpentry experience in residential, commercial and heavy commercial. He has been a union member for 35 years.

“I want to concentrate on teaching the basics in residential, because I think that was a good foundation for me, learning how to build houses, working with wood,” Lopez said. “On the commercial side, I have a wide variety of commercial construction. Most of my years in the union gave me a vast experience in different fields, including large commercial projects, heavy construction and working with general contractors.”

Students receive hands-on training in structural framing, building systems, project management and finish carpentry while gaining a working knowledge of construction codes, green building concepts and energy-efficient building practices. They will also learn cabinetry and furniture making. 

“We want to set them up to be able to call themselves a true carpenter. They can’t do that if they don’t learn codes, if they don’t learn the safety aspect and the proper plan reading for carpentry,” Padilla said. “We want them to learn everything they need to start from the ground up to the completion of a project. Carpentry’s the one trade that stays on the job for the entire project. Electrical, plumbing, ironworking: they come in and they’re gone. Carpentry’s there from start to finish, working hand-in-hand with all the other trades.”

Career pathways include carpenter’s apprentices, construction technicians, framing carpenters, cabinet makers or finish carpenters in residential, commercial or industrial settings. Opportunities exist with government agencies, cabinet shops and construction firms. The demand for skilled carpenters is strong in both local and regional markets, with carpenters responsible for upwards of 80 percent of most construction projects built today.

HVAC Technology

What sets Northern’s HVAC program apart from other HVAC certificates is that students will graduate with an EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) HVAC certification, known as the Section 608 Technician Certification, which is required to handle refrigerants and gases involved with heating and cooling. Northern graduates will be job ready at a higher rate of pay than those without the EPA certificate.

“This federal certification requires technicians to pass a test on refrigerant management, safe handling practices and disposal, and without it, they cannot legally purchase or work with refrigerants in HVAC systems,” Padilla said. 

Northern’s HVAC program prepares students for careers in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R). The program focuses on hands-on training in the installation, maintenance and repair of residential and commercial HVAC systems. Students gain practical experience with industry-standard tools, technologies and techniques, while developing foundational knowledge of refrigeration, electrical systems, motors, controls and air conditioning units.

HVAC is in such high demand that employers are hiring students while they are still in the program, working around their class schedules to employ them. Since a New Mexico General Contractor License in any of the trades requires 600 hours of experience documented through the Department of Labor, opportunities like this put Northern students well on their way to earning that license. 

Welding Technology

Northern’s Welding program trains students in multiple welding techniques, covering all aspects except for underwater welding. In addition to onsite classes on campus, Northern offers dual credit welding in three local high schools. 

The program provides students with comprehensive hands-on training in welding and metal fabrication techniques. It is designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in the welding industry through practical instruction in a variety of welding processes, thermal cutting, fabrication and print reading. 

Living Labs

Northern’s technical trades programs go beyond the classroom into what Padilla calls “living labs,” where students apply what they are learning to real-world projects, giving them practical experience with tools, materials and industry methods. Students from the electrical and plumbing programs and HVAC and carpentry camps have applied their skills to helping to renovate the dorms and several houses on the El Rito campus. The new programs will offer similar opportunities. 

“In an educational setting you learn the theory and techniques, but you’re not in a setting to where you have to troubleshoot or you have to learn how to work around certain obstacles that come with a trades job,” Padilla said. “It’s not always going to be a lab setting right in front of you, easy work. When they’re in a living lab they have to work around obstacles and work around other utilities in the structure and practice the safety aspect of doing that. You can’t just start building on something that has gas lines, water lines or electrical in the way.”

Padilla hopes to expand the living labs aspect in the future, utilizing a large space on the El Rito campus to build model bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens or even tiny homes from the ground up. Projects like these would provide practical experience for students in every one of Northerns tech trades disciplines. 

“This is a goal. We have the capability to send a finished product out of our trades with the disciplines we currently have,” Padilla said. 

Padilla ultimately hopes to change people’s perceptions about the tech trades and help them realize these are highly skilled careers with great opportunity and earning potential. 

Eight-week carpentry classes start Oct. 20, 2025. Registration is open now. Welding and HVAC courses will be offered again in Spring 2026. Spring registration opens Oct. 13, 2025. For more information on registration or to learn more about any of Northern New Mexico College’s trades programs, go to https://nnmc.edu/academics/technical-trades/index.html. 

Photo credits: Courtesy Carpenters Local 1319