Refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprenticeships in New Zealand
Kaihangarau papu wera, whakamātao, whāhauhau hoki
Heat pump, refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians install, service and repair refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and equipment.
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How long did your apprenticeship take?
Put it on the record. Anonymous, about two minutes.
Add your timelineHow long is a refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprenticeship, and what does it pay?
A refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprenticeship in New Zealand takes 0–3 years. Once qualified, the job most commonly pays $29–$48 an hour, starting at $24 an hour and reaching $60 an hour with experience. The work also requires registration with the Electrical Workers Registration Board.
- How long it takes
- 0–3 years
- Pay when starting out
- $24 an hour
- Most common pay
- $29–$48 an hour
- Experienced
- $60 an hour
- School qualifications
- NCEA Level 2 is the usual entry point for the study or training.
- Registration
- Required. Electrical Workers Registration Board
Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →
What do you need to start a refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprenticeship?
An employer willing to take you on, first of all — everything else follows the job. NCEA Level 2 is the usual entry point for the study or training. Beyond that, what a refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprenticeship asks for is:
- An apprenticeship in refrigeration, heating and air conditioning.
- An Electrical Service Technician practising licence and a Refrigerant Handling Licence.
In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →
Weighing up the engineering trades side by side? Engineering apprenticeships compared →
Which New Zealand employers take on refrigeration and air-conditioning technician apprentices?
We list 3 of them, across 3 regions: Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington. Each was verified against the company's own website, and each listing carries a name, a trade and a region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings of any of them.
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Refrigeration and air-conditioning technician, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-11-01.