Professional Ammonia Refrigeration Operator Education (Pro-AROE)
November 3-7, 2025: Ammonia Refrigeration Assistant Operator 1/2
April 13-17, 2026: Ammonia Refrigeration Operator
November 3-7, 2025: Ammonia Refrigeration Assistant Operator 1/2
April 13-17, 2026: Ammonia Refrigeration Operator
What is Pro AROE?
Professional Ammonia Refrigeration Operator Education (Pro-AROE) trains experienced, mechanically skilled employees to become certified refrigeration operators, with a focus on seafood processing in Alaska.
When are the next classes?
November 3-7, 2025, we will offer Ammonia Refrigeration Assistant Operator 1/2. Registration will open on September 1, 2025.
April 13-17 - Ammonia Refrigeration Operator, will be offered. Registration will begin in late winter for this class.
What levels of education does Pro AROE consist of?
Three levels of certification including online and in-person elements are offered:
Assistant Operator 1
Assistant Operator 2
Operator
How do I participate in the Assistant Operator 1/2 class and what will I learn?
Assistant Operator 1/2 course consists of:
Assistant Operator I online modules cover:
Assistant Operator 1/2 in-person class covers:
Following successful completion, the Assistant Operator will be able to:
A certificate reflecting an individual’s successful completion of the program and skills will be issued at the end of the class and kept on file with the program.
How do I register?
Registration for Pro-AROE Assistant Operator 1/2 will begin on September 1, 2025. A link to the registration site will be posted on alaskaresearchconsortium.org. Registration for Operator, will begin in winter, 2026.
What does it cost?
Where will the in-person class take place?
What if I missed Assistant Operator 1? Can I enroll in Assistant Operator 1/2?
If you missed Assistant Operator 1, you can still enroll in Assistant Operator 1/2 this year. But you must take all of the online modules for Assistant Operator 1 and then take the 6 online modules for Assistant Operator 2. Once you successfully pass all of these online modules, you will be certified as Assistant Operator 1 and you may enroll in the October Kodiak face to face class.
Can I test out of Assistant Operator if I have experience or other training?
Not currently. Much like universities have prerequisites for advanced education, for this certification to be most meaningful we need to assure all graduates are not missing pieces of required knowledge. Because much of the training in the industry has been achieved by informal methods, we need to ensure certification provides consistent knowledge and skills, and employers will “know what they are getting” when employing certified operators. We know that experience of current operators is invaluable, however we currently do not have a process to ensure consistency to match this educational program.
What does a certificate from Pro-AROE mean?
Employing a Pro-AROE trained and certified technician means that he or she has completed a program that targets ammonia refrigeration operations in Alaska’s seafood industry. They have been observed and been certified via a hands-on program designed to be relevant and applicable to their workplace.
What if I want to take the RETA certification test?
If a RETA certificate is desired, Pro-AROE will enable an individual to take and pass that test with some additional study. The emphasis for Pro-AROE is different from RETA. Pro-AROE is focused on ammonia refrigeration and types of equipment in use in the Alaska seafood industry. RETA testing covers additional refrigerants, types of equipment used elsewhere, and places more emphasis on calculations.
Please contact the training administrator at your employer are interested in RETA testing.
Will the certification courses be offered in Spanish, and perhaps other languages?
That is a goal of the program and we do anticipate the courses will be available in other languages in the future. We do not have the funding to do this at this time.
Why should my company (or I) become a member of the Alaska Research Consortium (ARC)?
The Alaska Research Consortium (ARC) is a statewide non-profit organization. Our mission is to:
“Advocate for sustainable fisheries, marine resources, and the blue economy in support of coastal communities into the next generation. ARC focuses on workforce training,technology development and research that sustains and increases the value of Alaska's marine resources.”
Development of the Pro AROE program is supported by a Congressionally designated fund proposed by ARC. For more information about ARC, see alaskaresearchconsortium.org
Member benefits include:
ARC annual membership levels:
How has this program been developed?
Pro-AROE has been developed with funding support from a federal grant to the Alaska Research Consortium. Funding has also come from our supporters and members including Matson, Inc and ARC members. Once the program has been fully developed, it will be self-supporting.
For more information or if you have questions, please contact Paula Cullenberg, ARC, at alaskaresearchconsortium@gmail, (907) 440-6704 or Marc Solano, Alaska Sea Grant at [email protected], (907) 486-1505.
Professional Ammonia Refrigeration Operator Education (Pro-AROE) trains experienced, mechanically skilled employees to become certified refrigeration operators, with a focus on seafood processing in Alaska.
When are the next classes?
November 3-7, 2025, we will offer Ammonia Refrigeration Assistant Operator 1/2. Registration will open on September 1, 2025.
April 13-17 - Ammonia Refrigeration Operator, will be offered. Registration will begin in late winter for this class.
What levels of education does Pro AROE consist of?
Three levels of certification including online and in-person elements are offered:
Assistant Operator 1
Assistant Operator 2
Operator
How do I participate in the Assistant Operator 1/2 class and what will I learn?
Assistant Operator 1/2 course consists of:
- A series of online training modules, approximately 1 hour each, with an exam at the end. Individuals can re-take the modules and exams as needed. Participants must successfully complete all required modules before the in-person class begins in November. NOTE: If you have not taken or completed the Assistant Operator 1 training, you must successfully complete those online modules before attending the in-person class. Allow additional time (about 6 hours) to complete these modules.
- A 5-day, 36-hour, in-person class (November 3-7, 2025) based at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center (UAF) and one or more seafood plants in Kodiak.
- Assessment and certification of skills completed in-person by iWorkWise.
Assistant Operator I online modules cover:
- Fundamentals
- Heat Transfer Principles
- Ammonia Safety
- Introduction to Refrigeration Systems & Equipment
- Operator Safe Work Practices
- Documentation, Logs and Recordkeeping
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
- Compressors
- Evaporators
- Condensers & Purgers
- Valves
- Vessels, Pots & Pumps
- Detectors & Calibration
Assistant Operator 1/2 in-person class covers:
- Hands-on tear down and demonstrations of inner workings of certain equipment
- Safely managing liquid levels and defrosts
- Control systems
- Troubleshooting
- Differences between ammonia and Freon systems; the course covers materials required by EPA 608 (Freon) regulations. The 608 Universal certification test will be available to take after the class for anyone who wants to get their Universal certificate.
Following successful completion, the Assistant Operator will be able to:
- Describe the refrigeration cycle,
- Identify all major refrigeration equipment and explain how it works,
- List the fundamentals of working safely around ammonia,
- Start and stop compressors,
- Safely drain oil,
- Safely change plate freezer hoses,
- Safely manage liquid levels and defrosts,
- Test and calibrate fixed and portable ammonia detectors,
- Perform rounds and properly log operations,
- Read Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs),
- Have a basic understanding control systems and troubleshooting
- Understand the differences between ammonia and Freon systems.
A certificate reflecting an individual’s successful completion of the program and skills will be issued at the end of the class and kept on file with the program.
How do I register?
Registration for Pro-AROE Assistant Operator 1/2 will begin on September 1, 2025. A link to the registration site will be posted on alaskaresearchconsortium.org. Registration for Operator, will begin in winter, 2026.
What does it cost?
- Assistant Operator 1/2, online/in-person program is $2,650 for ARC members; $2,950 for non-members.
Where will the in-person class take place?
- The in-person, 5 day class (November 3-7, 2025) will be based at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.
- Lunch, coffee, water and snacks will be provided during all in-person class days.
- All other travel and per diem is the responsibility of the participant.
- We have arranged for a block of rooms at the Best Western Kodiak Inn for this week in November. The hotel provides breakfast.
What if I missed Assistant Operator 1? Can I enroll in Assistant Operator 1/2?
If you missed Assistant Operator 1, you can still enroll in Assistant Operator 1/2 this year. But you must take all of the online modules for Assistant Operator 1 and then take the 6 online modules for Assistant Operator 2. Once you successfully pass all of these online modules, you will be certified as Assistant Operator 1 and you may enroll in the October Kodiak face to face class.
Can I test out of Assistant Operator if I have experience or other training?
Not currently. Much like universities have prerequisites for advanced education, for this certification to be most meaningful we need to assure all graduates are not missing pieces of required knowledge. Because much of the training in the industry has been achieved by informal methods, we need to ensure certification provides consistent knowledge and skills, and employers will “know what they are getting” when employing certified operators. We know that experience of current operators is invaluable, however we currently do not have a process to ensure consistency to match this educational program.
What does a certificate from Pro-AROE mean?
Employing a Pro-AROE trained and certified technician means that he or she has completed a program that targets ammonia refrigeration operations in Alaska’s seafood industry. They have been observed and been certified via a hands-on program designed to be relevant and applicable to their workplace.
What if I want to take the RETA certification test?
If a RETA certificate is desired, Pro-AROE will enable an individual to take and pass that test with some additional study. The emphasis for Pro-AROE is different from RETA. Pro-AROE is focused on ammonia refrigeration and types of equipment in use in the Alaska seafood industry. RETA testing covers additional refrigerants, types of equipment used elsewhere, and places more emphasis on calculations.
Please contact the training administrator at your employer are interested in RETA testing.
Will the certification courses be offered in Spanish, and perhaps other languages?
That is a goal of the program and we do anticipate the courses will be available in other languages in the future. We do not have the funding to do this at this time.
Why should my company (or I) become a member of the Alaska Research Consortium (ARC)?
The Alaska Research Consortium (ARC) is a statewide non-profit organization. Our mission is to:
“Advocate for sustainable fisheries, marine resources, and the blue economy in support of coastal communities into the next generation. ARC focuses on workforce training,technology development and research that sustains and increases the value of Alaska's marine resources.”
Development of the Pro AROE program is supported by a Congressionally designated fund proposed by ARC. For more information about ARC, see alaskaresearchconsortium.org
Member benefits include:
- A discount on Pro AROE ($2,650 for ARC members, $2,950 for non-members for Level 2).
- Access to training history and certificates for participating employees and employers.
- Information about upcoming seafood processing workforce training and applied research offered through the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.
- Your membership helps expand continued seafood workforce training programs and applied research in Alaska. Input provided by members identify priorities for future efforts of the ARC.
ARC annual membership levels:
- Corporate with over 200 employees – annual membership is $1,000
- Corporate with 50-200 employees – annual membership $500
- Corporate with under 50 employees – annual membership $300
- Non-profits, Tribes, government, educational institutions – annual membership $300
- Individual members - $100
How has this program been developed?
Pro-AROE has been developed with funding support from a federal grant to the Alaska Research Consortium. Funding has also come from our supporters and members including Matson, Inc and ARC members. Once the program has been fully developed, it will be self-supporting.
For more information or if you have questions, please contact Paula Cullenberg, ARC, at alaskaresearchconsortium@gmail, (907) 440-6704 or Marc Solano, Alaska Sea Grant at [email protected], (907) 486-1505.