Page 42 - Climate Control News Magazine May 2019
P. 42

Training
Critical electrotechnology shortage to continue
LEFT: The average age of workers in the Electrotechnology industry is 39 with 24 per cent aged over 50.
As a result the workforce will need to be skilled in digital literacy.
Moore said the increasing implementation of sensors, software, and wireless and connected communication systems calls for new skills in electronics and computer systems.
He said the IRC recognise that air condition- ing and refrigeration qualifications need updat- ing to ensure workers are competent and able to work safely with new technologies.
The Skills Forecast also attributed shortages to the need to attract more people to the trade, especially women.
Female participation in the electrotech- nology industry has been gradually decreas- ing over the past 30 years, from approxi- mately 21 per cent in 1984 to an estimated 17 per cent in 2018.
The Skills Forecast found that although the electrotechnology industry has fared better compared to other industries when it came to the apprenticeship and trainee completion rate (54.7 per cent), it has still been declining over the past four years.
Moreover, employment growth in the industry has largely been constrained to NSW and Victo- ria for the last decade. These two states account for 94% of nationwide growth.
Every other state and territory has had moder- ate growth and flat-lining at best, or slight de- clines at worst.
ABOVE: Certificate III now includes
the latest refrigerants and technologies.
LEFT: ARC technical and training manager, Noel Munkman.
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY STANDARDS
(AIS) has released the latest skills forecast for the electrotechnology industry which showed continued shortages for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians.
The Electrotechnology industry in Australia employs over 352,000 people in a wide range of sectors; mining, manufacturing, communica- tions, construction, renewables, domestic and commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning, as well as electricians.
The industry operated with an annual revenue of $89.47 billion in 2018-19.
It revealed critical shortages in apprentice- ships and training enrolments for the electro- technology training package. Part of the prob- lem is an ageing workforce as the average age of workers is 39 with 24 per cent aged over 50.
At the national level, qualification enrol- ments in the UEE11 Training Package have de- creased by nearly 11% over the last four years while Units of Competency enrolments have decreased by 10%.
Electrotechnology IRC chair, Larry Moore, said new technologies such as smart devices and automated systems are reshaping the industry.
Long road to revise Cert III
A NATIONAL REVIEW to address critical skill gaps of the Certificate III refrigeration and air conditioning qualification began in 2014 and finally in 2019 there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
After years of consultation, debate and stalled starts, the review is set to be finalised in June.
Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) tech- nical and training manager, Noel Munkman, said the current Certificate III has been around since the year 2000 but technology and stand- ards have changed significantly.
He said steps were taken to revise qualifica- tions began in 2014 but after the fed-
eral election in 2015, the project came
to an abrupt end due to the change in government.
In 2016, the Federal Government set up the Australian Industry and Skills Committee to manage the develop- ment and review of all national Train-
ing Packages with a RAC Technical Advisory Committee made up of representatives from the major RAC industry bodies and training provid- ers established in November 2017 to provide ad- vice on the required changes. “Since its estab- lishment we have been meeting every month or two,” he said. The most recently meeting was held last month.
To ensure the review would meet the RAC in- dustry’s needs, a roundtable was held in August 2018. “The roundtable was very successful be- cause the entire industry was represented and we were finally able to reach agreement on the
changes required,” Munkman said. Participants recognised the need to cover a number of topics in the course from safety, natural refrigerants and maintenance to controls and variable speed drives. “The revised Certificate III will include the latest refrigerants and technologies.”
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