FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation will hold its third annual HVAC Apprentice Contest Sept. 30-Oct. 1 during PHCC’s CONNECT 2015 in Hollywood, Florida.

The HVAC contest features the nation’s top 15 HVAC apprentices in a hands-on competition that comprises six events: brazing, where contestants assemble a refrigeration circuit with components following a drawing; refrigerant recovery and identification; a written knowledge test; an opportunity to take readings on a working package unit and make relevant calculations to determine system operation parameters; electrical troubleshooting; and basic electrical skills and wiring.

When 2014 winner Leroy Friend, a technician with Shapiro & Duncan in Rockville, Maryland, returned to work after winning the contest, he carried with him a big boost of confidence, a $4,000-plus prize package of state-of-the-art tools to show his colleagues, and bragging rights for his company.