Herzing Skilled Trades

When a dishwasher leaks, or a washing machine won’t spin, or an oven won’t heat, an appliance service technician comes to the rescue. These skilled professionals troubleshoot and maintain the appliances we rely on every single day. It’s essential, rewarding work.

But like any job, appliance repair has both advantages and drawbacks. And it’s important to understand the whole picture before committing to a career.

In this post, we outline the top pros and cons of becoming an appliance service technician. Find out if this trade is a good fit for you and what steps to take next.

Roughly 700,000 tradespeople in Canada are expected to retire by 2028, and there simply aren’t enough new workers to replace them.

Statistics like that worry Erin Jacobs of Whirlpool Canada. She’s been with the company for almost 20 years and works closely with the service technicians. She knows all too well how critical it is to attract new blood to the appliance repair trade.

That’s why she chose to speak at Herzing’s recent Women in Trades event. She hopes to inspire more people—particularly women—to consider a career in appliance service.

We caught up with Erin this week to learn more about her message and what prospective techs should know. Read on for the highlights of that conversation.

Cheryl Franklin stumbled into the appliance industry almost by accident. She’d been a retail manager, but a change in her personal life made her want work she could do from home. She started doing remote office support for a friend’s appliance repair company—and eventually realized she could run her own.

But first, she needed training, so she enrolled in Herzing College. That was back in 2015. As soon as she graduated, she launched Champion Appliance Repair and built up a client base. She now runs a busy shop and has a staff of six technicians.

We spoke with Cheryl to learn more about how her career journey has unfolded. Read on for the details.

Updated December 2023

You’re smart to be looking into how to become an appliance repair technician. This is an in-demand trade that lets you tinker with exciting new technologies and work on the cutting edge. Plus, fixing the appliances that people rely on each day can bring real job satisfaction and fulfillment.

So what does it take to get started?

Below, we outline the skills, training, and certifications that can help you launch your appliance technician career in Ontario. We also provide the latest data on wages and job outlook, so you can get a true picture of where this trade can take you.

Imagine life without your fridge, microwave, oven, or washing machine. Most of us could barely last a single day without these conveniences—even though modern versions have only been around for the past 50 to 60 years.

In a relatively short amount of time, we've become totally dependent on our home appliances. But that's great news for appliance technicians, who are always in demand for installation and servicing. And it's definitely a positive trend for anyone considering appliance repair training.

Want a little preview of the kinds of issues you'll face on the job and learn about during appliance training?

Here's a roundup of the home appliances that always seem to need servicing, how they break down, and what you'll check first.

Appliance technician students learning how to disassemble and repair microwaves at Herzing College Toronto

Updated January 2024

If you ask the average person to name some skilled trades, there’s a good chance appliance repair won’t make the list. It just doesn’t come to mind most of the time.

Which is a shame, because this is a fast-growing field with a ton of opportunities across Ontario.

Appliances like fridges, ovens, freezers, washers, dryers, and microwaves are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. And there aren’t enough people with the technical expertise to service and repair them.

The truth is that the demand for appliance technicians has been rising steadily for years. And it’s expected to continue growing for the foreseeable future.

Keep reading to find out what’s driving this trend—and how you can take advantage of it.

Updated December 2023

If you're looking for a short route to an in-demand career, the skilled trades are an excellent area to explore.

We're not talking about roles like electrician and plumber, which take five years of training and apprenticeship to get certified. We're talking about trades that take less than a year to go from being a complete beginner to being fully qualified for hands-on roles employers need to fill.

In this post, we're focusing on three of today's quickest, most in-demand trades: network cabling specialist, gas technician, and appliance service technician.

All three of these careers have solid job outlooks, but don't require lengthy training or even an apprenticeship.

Read on to compare roles, salaries, and employment options for each trade--and see which one could be right for you.

Appliance Service Technician students disassembling units and working on parts at Herzing College Toronto

Updated January 2024

Welcome to the ultimate guide to appliance service technician training and careers in Ontario.  

Considering becoming an appliance service technician? Want to know how long training takes and what job opportunities are out there?  

Wondering about certifications, salaries, and demand for this trade in Ontario? 

These are some of the most common questions we get from prospective students. So we pulled them all together here for easy access. 

Get reliable information to plan your next step, and some expert advice on what to expect from a career in the appliance trade. 

Photo: Students working on appliances at Herzing College

Think the world doesn’t need any more appliance service technicians, because people just throw out broken units and buy news ones? 

Think again! Sure, in some cases, a broken appliance may be cheaper to replace than fix. But many of today’s high-tech “smart” units do not fall into that category. 

And there is huge demand for technologically advanced major home appliances. Market research shows sales are up and expected to keep climbing in the years ahead. 

“The Canadian home appliances market is recording growth numbers and is largely driven by the innovation in the appliances...  

The products with multi-utility, smart features, that look simple yet more fashionable than the usual ones are gaining more significance and wide appreciation by consumers.” 

These “multi-utility, smart” machines need highly skilled appliance service technicians for maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair. 

Companies like Whirlpool Canada can’t find enough service technicians with the right skills to service these highly evolved appliances.  

And that’s exactly why we launched our Appliance Service Technician program in partnership with Whirlpool Canada. 

Curious about the training? Check out our student reviews and the best features of this course.

Samantha  Barrette had zero experience taking apart and repairing appliances when she started the Appliance Service Technician program at Herzing College.

Just eight months later, she landed her dream job as an appliance technician with Trans Global Service. Trans Global is Canada's largest appliance service and installation company, with 300 employees and operations all across the country.

And she got that job even though Trans Global had announced a hiring freeze and wasn't officially looking for new technicians.

We interviewed Samantha last week to find out how she landed such a great position and how things are going in her new job.

We also got her opinion on Herzing's Appliance Service Technician program, what it's like to be a female technician, and her daily life on the job.

Here's what we found out.