Page 8 - Climate Control News Dec-Jan 2020

News
RAC technicians are Australia’s highest earning tradies
REFRIGERATION AND AIR conditioning (RAC) technicians are Australia’s highest earn- ing tradies earning more than $83k annually.
According to the latest SEEK data tradies are earning above average salaries, which are much higher than what first year university graduates earn in today’s workforce.
SEEK found that air-conditioning and refrig-
Tradie of the Year, Robert Gruis.
eration technicians earn, on average, $83,278 an- nually, closely followed by electricians who earn $82,782 and fitters, turners and machinists who make $79,170 a year.
Not only are RAC technicians the highest earners they also topped salary growth with pay rises topping 7.7% since 2016. That is a substantial increase compared to other pro- fessions which are not only stagnant but going backwards.
The SEEK data found that RAC salaries have gone against most workforce trends with many industries flat-lining when it came to wages, an- other exception is boiler makers who have seen salaries rise 7.3% over the same period.
There is such a lack of awareness about the op- portunities available to refrigeration and air con- ditioning technicians that the job is often over- looked by school leavers, according to Kevin O’Shea, the president of the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (RACCA).
He said there are so many advantages to choosing a trade over a university degree.
“The advantage of trade is that with four years of learning the trade, you’re actually getting paid, whereas if you go to university, it’s costing you either by HECS or private fees," he said.
CCN’s Tradie of the Year Award winner, Rob- ert Gruis, said being a RAC technician is a great career choice.
“We need to raise the profile of the trade be- cause most people outside of the industry haven’t even heard of it which is why we have such a shortage of tradespeople,” Gruis said.
One way to address the shortage is to diver- sify the workforce by attracting more women to the trade.
Woman of the Year in HVACR Award winner, Jenny Smith, said it is also a career in high demand. “The scope of HVACR is huge and we need more women in this space as we think differently
which is great for diversity of ideas,” she said.
Schneider Electric invests in Australia’s renewable energy future
EXECUTIVES FROM SCHNEIDER Electric, which has an $800 million investment fund for high growth business opportunities, met with local startups last month to invest in Australia’s renewable energy future.
The company’s chief innovation officer, Em- manuel Lagarrigue, was in Australia seeking out incubations, investments and partnerships with startups.
Lagarrigue said demand for electricity is set to double in the next 20 years and the current power infrastructure won’t be able to keep up with demand.
“We are moving from a fossil fuel-driven econ- omy to an electrified one and we are looking for entrepreneurs that can help the world become more energy efficient and transition to decen- tralized, renewable energy,” he said. “We assist
innovators by turning their vision into reality and can provide the needed resources to succeed in this complex industry beyond just capital.”
A local recipient of SE Ventures’ funding and incubation support has been Clipsal Solar, head- ed up by Preeti Bajaj.
Clipsal is a 100 year old South Australian brand and this new business spin out was launched by Premier Steven Marshall in mid-September and uniquely empowers consumers so they can take control of their energy use and cut their electrici- ty bills by using household data analytics to man- age rooftop solar electricity generation and ener- gy use around the home, office or shop.
As part of the search, Lagarrigue together with his senior vice president of innovation based in Sili- con Valley, Heriberto Diarte Martinez, met with South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and
Chief Entrepreneur Jim Whalley, along with three local South Australian businesses.
The visit follows news that Schneider Elec- tric Ventures has committed $16 million over the next four years to incubate and develop up to four Singapore-based companies with global growth potential.
L-R: Schneider Electric’s chief innovation officer, Emmanuel Lagarrigue; SA Premier, Steven Marshall, met with executives from Schneider Electric.
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