diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 509a89ec18e..9342c53375c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ all: aws/efs ceph/cephfs ceph/rbd flex gluster/block gluster/glusterfs gluster/f
 clean: clean-aws/efs clean-ceph/cephfs clean-ceph/rbd clean-flex clean-gluster/block clean-gluster/glusterfs clean-iscsi/targetd clean-local-volume/provisioner clean-nfs-client clean-nfs clean-openebs clean-snapshot
 .PHONY: clean
 
-test: test-aws/efs test-local-volume/provisioner test-local-volume/helm test-nfs test-snapshot
+test: test-aws/efs test-local-volume/provisioner test-nfs test-snapshot
 .PHONY: test
 
 verify:
diff --git a/local-volume/helm/test/run.sh b/local-volume/helm/test/run.sh
index 960961e44de..8a173a81cf0 100755
--- a/local-volume/helm/test/run.sh
+++ b/local-volume/helm/test/run.sh
@@ -21,16 +21,9 @@ set -o pipefail
 ROOT=$(unset CDPATH && cd $(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.. && pwd)
 cd $ROOT
 
-function install_helm() {
-    local OS=$(uname | tr A-Z a-z)
-    local VERSION=v2.7.2
-    local ARCH=amd64
-    local HELM_URL=http://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-helm/helm-${VERSION}-${OS}-${ARCH}.tar.gz
-    curl -s "$HELM_URL" | sudo tar --strip-components 1 -C /usr/local/bin -zxf - ${OS}-${ARCH}/helm
-}
-
 if ! which helm &>/dev/null; then
-    install_helm
+    echo "helm not installed, see README.md for instructions on installing it"
+    exit 2
 fi
 
 # lint first
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
index 8c6f5badb61..0ff0e695655 100755
--- a/test.sh
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,18 @@ set -o nounset
 set -o pipefail
 set -o xtrace
 
+# This file is used by travisci to test PRs.
+# It installs several dependencies on the test machine that are
+# required to run the tests.
+
+function install_helm() {
+    local OS=$(uname | tr A-Z a-z)
+    local VERSION=v2.7.2
+    local ARCH=amd64
+    local HELM_URL=http://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-helm/helm-${VERSION}-${OS}-${ARCH}.tar.gz
+    curl -s "$HELM_URL" | sudo tar --strip-components 1 -C /usr/local/bin -zxf - ${OS}-${ARCH}/helm
+}
+
 # Skip duplicate build and test runs through the CI, that occur because we are now running on osx and linux.
 # Skipping these steps saves time and travis-ci resources.
 if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
@@ -49,6 +61,8 @@ if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
                 export PATH=$(pwd):${PATH}
                 make
                 make test
+                install_helm
+                make test-local-volume/helm
         fi
 elif [ "$TEST_SUITE" = "linux-nfs" ]; then
 	# Install nfs, cfssl
@@ -120,5 +134,6 @@ elif [ "$TEST_SUITE" = "linux-everything-else" ]; then
 elif [ "$TEST_SUITE" = "linux-local-volume" ]; then
 	make local-volume/provisioner
 	make test-local-volume/provisioner
+	install_helm
 	make test-local-volume/helm
 fi