AT Institute Streamlining Training For The Service Industry

Starting any new venture is daunting — but the hope for success, and for what that idea could become, is what pushes many forward-thinkers to dare to see it through. The idea of creating a private career college for their family company, Toronto Appliance Service (TAS), was a necessary one for Andrey Czupiel — and the possibility of what it could become is what pushed him to see it through. 

Established in 2017, the AT Institute was created to train new technicians for TAS in order to service the Greater Toronto Area — now proudly having trained over 150 well-learned technicians, AT Institute graduates service all of Southern Ontario, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and are the only appliance servicing training center in Central and Eastern Canada. 

Andrey and his father, Chris Czupiel — the owner of TAS — knew that a private career college for the appliance servicing industry was something North America needed desperately — and they put the work in to make it the first leading college of its kind. Despite only starting a mere three years ago, the AT Institute is a technician pipeline for leading appliance manufacturers. LG Canada, Samsung Canada, Whirlpool Canada, Electrolux — these are well-known names in the global appliance manufacturing industry. Not only did the private college partner with all of these companies to provide top-of-the-line appliances with the newest technologies for the trainees to work on, but it opens access for these technicians to employment opportunities across the country. Students have received employment opportunities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Montreal, and will have even more opportunities available to them with the extended training available at the institute.

Initially starting with only teaching domestic and commercial appliance serving, the Institute grew to offer HVAC programs that offer gas technician licensing courses and refrigeration and air conditioning courses. And the pandemic won’t get in the way of a trainee’s education. The institute equips all students with a laptop, toolbox, and electronic copies of all textbooks and learning materials — this ensures all students have access to the resources and technologies to finish their program without any obstacles. Combined with a mandatory 12-week co-op placement, the ultimate appliance servicing program equips all technicians with the skills to excel in their jobs. 

These capabilities have given the institute global attention — with interest in the private college and what it offers coming from China, England, and India. To take the institute even further, Andrey developed a consulting firm to assist appliance servicing companies across England, Ukraine, France, Canada, and the U.S. And with The Appliance Workshop podcast, they educate anyone listening on the best marketing and advertising practices, how to successfully apply for manufacturer warranty contracts, and the essential skills needed to run a servicing company.

With every new addition to what the Institute can do, industry leadership approaches ever closer. The fact that the institute is already receiving global recognition, has its expertise reaching Europe, the U.K. and North America, and has key partnerships with some of the biggest manufacturers in the appliance industry in its three-years of operations is indicative of their superior efforts. Andrey and the AT Institute want to create a global community, with key partnerships from global manufacturers and technicians. With plans to open additional campuses in two other provinces in 2020, and seeing campuses in five provinces in Canada and five states in the U.S. in the next five-ten years, it’s clear that the community is growing steadily. The three values of the institute are Training, Innovation and Leadership, with the primary goal of being that the appliance servicing industry gets the most comprehensive training program. Well, they’ve certainly exceeded their expectations, and there’s no doubt they will continue to do so.