Rhode Island’s Office of Energy Resources and the Community College of Rhode Island announced an HVAC/R and heat-pump training initiative on October 6, 2026. CCRI secured $200,000 from OER to develop the program. New-hire training is scheduled for summer/fall 2027, not immediate enrollment this fall. The funding will support a hands-on teaching environment with ducted and ductless heat-pump systems, diagnostic instruments and electrical learning systems. It also supports a new-hire curriculum intended as a pre-apprenticeship pathway, emphasizing refrigeration principles, brazing and piping, and cold-climate applications. A separate 40-hour Heat Pump Installation, Commissioning, Service and Maintenance program targets existing HVAC/R professionals. CCRI says it will launch that program by September 2027. Training will use the college’s Lincoln Campus lab. The announcement describes troubleshooting practice and, for current professionals, work on inverter technology and dual-fuel optimization. For prospective trainees, the distinction is important: $200,000 funds program infrastructure and curriculum. It is not a $200,000 pool of payments promised directly to students, and the announcement does not provide an application opening date, tuition amount or guaranteed apprenticeship placement. Readers considering this path should watch for CCRI’s enrollment details closer to launch. A pre-apprenticeship pathway can prepare someone for further industry training, but this announcement does not itself grant a license, a job or an apprenticeship position.