| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private, for-profit career school; all programs in person |
| Campus | 1, in Baltimore, MD, plus a leased CDL driving range in Woodlawn |
| Credentials | Diplomas; Class A and Class B CDL training |
| Program length | 1 week (Class B CDL) to 58 weeks (evening trade programs) |
| Accreditation | ACCSC since 1987; approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission |
| Federal aid | Yes (Federal School Code 017074) |
| Published costs | $2,195.70 (Class B CDL) to $26,200 (Diesel Technology program page) |
| Students | 534 in fall 2024 (IPEDS), all full-time |
| Founded / owner | First classes 1971; the catalog names New Castle School of Trades as owner |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
A Baltimore trade school that started with diesel
North American Trade Schools (NATS) is a private, for-profit career school in Baltimore that teaches diesel repair, HVAC/R, electrical work, welding, building construction and commercial truck driving. It held its first classes in 1971 in a garage in Landover, Maryland, moved to Grantsville in 1983 and moved to Baltimore in 2004, when the former Diesel Institute of America took its current name. In September 2024 it moved from Security Square Mall in Woodlawn to a 40,000-square-foot building on Wabash Avenue in Baltimore City.
The school’s 2025 catalog, reissued in 2026 as a “Change of Ownership” edition, names New Castle School of Trades as owner. IPEDS counted 534 students in fall 2024, all full-time and 95% of them men, and 377 completions in 2024-25.
Programs at NATS
All programs are taught in person, and graduates of the longer programs receive a diploma. The table shows each program with the cost the school publishes for completing it in normal time. The school gives no year for these prices and no separate in-state or out-of-state rates.
| Program | Credential | Length and schedule | Prepares for | Published cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel Technology | Diploma, 1,152 hours | 39 weeks day / 58 weeks evening | ASE preparation; Freightliner, Detroit Diesel, Mercedes-Benz, Cummins Insite and ESCO EPA 609 certifications | $26,200 on the program page; $21,300 in a July 2026 disclosure (confirm) |
| Diesel Technology with CDL | Diploma, 1,440 hours | – | Class A CDL | $26,125 |
| Electrical Technology | Diploma, 1,152 hours | 39 weeks day / 58 weeks evening | NCCER Core, NCCER Electrical Level 1, OSHA 10 | $21,325 |
| HRVAC Technology | Diploma, 1,152 hours | 39 weeks day; evening 58 weeks (catalog) or 44 (program page) | EPA 608 | $20,825 |
| Building Construction Technology | Diploma, 1,152 hours | 39 weeks, day only | OSHA 10; Ramset powder-actuated tool licence | $20,825 |
| Combination Welding | Diploma, 864 hours | 36 weeks day / 44 weeks evening | AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, OSHA 10 | $16,325 |
| Commercial Truck Driving, Class A | 320 hours | 10 weeks weekday, 16 or 17 evening or 20 weekend | Class A CDL | $5,500 |
| Class B CDL | 48 hours | 1 week weekday; 3 weeks weekend (catalog) | Class B CDL | $2,195.70 |
A September 2026 catalog addendum places CDL driving and range training at a leased range at 6901 Security Boulevard in Woodlawn, the former Security Square Mall site, although the program pages still describe training and testing on campus. Only the CDL courses have weekend classes. The school does not offer Industrial Maintenance.
What the main programs cover
Diesel Technology
The 1,152-hour diploma moves through electrical and electronic systems, powertrains, transmissions and differentials, hydraulic, ABS and air brakes, suspension and steering, engines and fuel systems, and computer diagnostics. The school lists Freightliner, Detroit Diesel, Mercedes-Benz, Cummins Insite and ESCO EPA 609 certifications and ASE preparation. Day classes run 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday to Friday; evening classes run 6 to 11 pm, Monday to Thursday. The Diesel Technology with CDL option adds Class A driver training, so applicants also need the CDL entry documents.
Commercial truck driving (CDL)
The Class A course is 320 hours of range maneuvers and road driving, offered on weekdays, weekday evenings or weekends. The catalog also lists a four-week, 160-hour Accelerated Class A course not shown on the website. Class B is 48 hours. Applicants need a current driver’s licence, an acceptable MVA driving record, a DOT physical with an unrestricted medical card and a drug screen. Class A students must be 21; for Class B the catalog says 18 and the program page says 21. The catalog sets 10 students per instructor on the range.
HRVAC Technology
HRVAC covers heating, air conditioning and refrigeration together: HVAC electrical circuits, diagnosis and repair, installation, ductwork and sheet-metal fabrication, and customer service. It prepares students for the EPA 608 refrigerant-handling certification and, according to the school, specialty certifications such as electricity and air conditioning. Entry rules are stricter than for the other trades: applicants must keep a valid driver’s licence for the whole program, and convictions for arson, sexual offenses, violent felonies or HVAC-related theft or fraud lead to automatic rejection. Other felonies are generally considered seven or more years after release.
Electrical Technology
Electrical Technology covers residential and commercial wiring, machine control, programmable logic controllers, telecommunications and electronic controls, panelboard selection, overcurrent protection, low-voltage systems and photovoltaics. Students work toward the NCCER Core and NCCER Electrical Level 1 credentials and an OSHA 10 card; the school is an NCCER Accredited Training Sponsor. The day schedule is 30 hours a week for 39 weeks; the evening schedule is 20 hours a week for 58 weeks.
Combination Welding
Welding students practice stick (SMAW), MIG (GMAW), flux-core (FCAW) and TIG (GTAW) welding and oxy-fuel and plasma cutting over 864 hours. The program builds toward AWS D1.1 and ASME Section IX welder qualification tests, then a 6G pipe test, and includes OSHA 10. The school says it pays for each student’s first AWS test attempt. Day classes run 24 hours a week, Monday to Thursday, for 36 weeks; evening classes run 20 hours a week for 44 weeks. Job-placement help is offered.
Building Construction Technology
Building Construction Technology, shown as Building Technology in the school’s menu, is a general construction diploma rather than a single-trade course. It covers estimating and print reading, framing, drywall, exterior finishing, masonry, plumbing, carpentry, and door and window installation. Students work toward an OSHA 10 card and a Ramset powder-actuated tool licence. The program runs 39 weeks on the day schedule only; the catalog says it is not currently offered in the evening.
Costs, debt and financial aid
The prices above come from the school’s program pages, except the $26,125 for Diesel Technology with CDL, which comes from a school disclosure revised in July 2026. That disclosure lists slightly lower costs for most programs ($25 less) and $21,300 for Diesel Technology, against $26,200 on the Diesel Technology page; ask the school which figure applies before you sign. Other fees in the catalog include $50 for a CDL re-test and up to $50 for a section transfer.
For students who graduated between July 2025 and June 2026, median loan debt was about $9,640 for the 1,152-hour programs, $8,153 for welding and $3,338 for truck driving, according to the school’s median loan debt disclosure.
NATS takes federal student aid, including Pell Grants, FSEOG and Direct and PLUS loans, and 91% of full-time first-time students received aid in 2023-24. The catalog also lists Maryland’s Jack F. Tolbert grant (limited funds), WIOA, Vocational Rehabilitation and Trade Adjustment Assistance. The school is approved for GI Bill Chapters 30, 31, 32, 33 and 1606, and GI Bill students can attend for up to 90 days while waiting for VA payment without penalty. College Navigator puts the net price of the largest program at about $8,600 for families earning up to $75,000; the school’s net price calculator gives a personal estimate.
Admission needs a diploma and an entrance test
Admission is not open. Applicants normally need a high-school diploma or GED and must score above 75 on the Edu-ready entrance assessment; the catalog says the director may admit a lower score with academic monitoring. All financial aid paperwork must be complete before the start date. CDL and HRVAC applicants have the extra requirements described above.
Trade programs run by day from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday to Friday (welding Monday to Thursday), or in the evening from 6 to 11 pm, Monday to Thursday. The catalog sets class sizes of up to 25 students in labs and 40 in lectures.
Accreditation and results
NATS has been accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) since 27 December 1987, with its next review due on 30 May 2028, according to College Navigator. It is approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission and is an NCCER Accredited Training Sponsor. In College Navigator, 69% of full-time, first-time students who started in 2021-22 graduated within 150% of normal time, the retention rate from fall 2023 to fall 2024 was 84%, and the loan default rate was 0% for the FY2021 cohort.
The school’s 2025 ACCSC annual report gives completion and in-field placement rates by program. The report does not state which entering years it covers. Completion is graduates divided by starts; placement is graduates employed in the field divided by graduates available for work.
| Program | Completion | Placement in field |
|---|---|---|
| Building Construction (day) | 74% | 71% |
| Combination Welding (day / evening) | 73% / 58% | 71% / 71% |
| Diesel Technology (day / evening) | 56% / 52% | 76% / 73% |
| Diesel Technology with CDL | 50% (8 starts) | 75% |
| Electrical Technology (day / evening) | 62% / 50% | 71% / 70% |
| HRVAC Technology (day / evening) | 63% / 56% | 71% / 70% |
| Class A CDL (weekday / weekend) | 85% / 83% | 82% / 74% |
| Class B CDL | 100% | 81% |
Placement is at or just above ACCSC’s 70% benchmark in every program, and about half of evening Diesel and Electrical students finished. We found no published CDL, EPA 608 or AWS test pass rates.
Before you enroll
- Confirm the Diesel Technology price: the program page says $26,200 and the school’s July 2026 disclosure says $21,300.
- The September 2026 catalog addendum puts CDL driving at a leased range in Woodlawn, not at the Baltimore City campus, while the program pages still say on campus; ask where you will train and plan for travel.
- Evening students finish less often: 50% to 58% completed in the evening Diesel, Electrical, HRVAC and Welding programs in the 2025 ACCSC report, against 56% to 73% by day.
- Some details differ between the catalog and the website, including the HRVAC evening length (58 or 44 weeks) and the minimum age for Class B CDL (18 or 21). Get the answer in writing.
- HRVAC applicants with certain criminal convictions are rejected, and Building Construction has no evening schedule.
One campus and a CDL range
| Site | Address | What is taught there |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore campus | 5760 Wabash Avenue, Suite B, Baltimore, MD 21215 | Diesel, HRVAC, electrical, welding and building construction; day and evening classes |
| CDL range (not a campus) | 6901 Security Boulevard, Baltimore (Woodlawn), MD 21244 | CDL range and road driving |
Career help for graduates
The school says trucking companies’ recruiters visit every month to hire CDL graduates, and its career services staff help with interview practice and resumes. Job-placement help is also offered to welding graduates.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Diesel and Truck Driving
- Diesel Technology (diploma, 1,152 hours)
- Diesel Technology with CDL (diploma, 1,440 hours)
- Commercial Truck Driving, Class A CDL (320 hours)
- Accelerated Commercial Truck Driving, Class A CDL (160 hours, listed in the catalog)
- Class B CDL (48 hours)
Building Trades
- Electrical Technology (diploma, 1,152 hours)
- HRVAC Technology (diploma, 1,152 hours)
- Building Construction Technology (diploma, 1,152 hours, day only)
- Combination Welding (diploma, 864 hours)
Campus Locations
Baltimore, MD 5760 Wabash Avenue, Suite B, Baltimore, MD 21215