These nationally recognized Residential Construction Academy (RCA) accredited instructional programs, in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Home Builders Institute (HBI) have been designed around a business, industry, and national skills standards model. These programs use project-based methods and national performance standards to instruct and evaluate students in a variety of careers in the mechanical and building maintenance industries. Students receive highly technical instruction that prepares them for an entry-level position using their academic and technical knowledge and skills to install, service and maintain heating, air conditioning, and plumbing systems. Instruction includes: daily theory and hands-on application of basic principles of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing systems; installation of rough-in plumbing systems in frame construction and installation of rough-in plumbing systems in ground; installation of residential plumbing fixtures, garbage disposals, kitchen and bath faucets, hot water heaters, gas fuel piping; installation of residential cooling systems and heating systems; installation of refrigeration systems, blueprint reading, drain cleaning methods, HVAC trouble shooting methods and component replacement. Instruction further includes: the use of ICC 2015 code books for plumbing, mechanical, and fuel/flue gas piping, basic hand tools, power tools and power equipment, refrigerant recovery equipment, manifold gauges, digital multi-meters and testing equipment. All students choosing this pathway will be enrolled in the Plumbing and HVAC Technology program for their first year and second year. During their third year in the program, students will focus their studies by selecting either the HVAC pathway or the Plumbing pathway.