Page 19 - Climate Control News August 2021

NextGen 2021
Raising the standards bar
PROTECH AIR CONDITIONING apprentice, Pranesh Gounder, is in the second year of his trade. The 19-year-old went straight from school into refrigeration and air conditioning. “This is my first job, I was lucky family friends introduced me to the trade,” Pranesh says. “Since I began my apprenticeship I have learnt a lot, there is so much to learn which is why it never gets boring.”
Kieran Grima is a second year apprentice at Big Bear Refrigeration in Sydney. The 18-year-old knew he wanted to work in this industry straight from school. He began working at another air
“I ENJOY THE PROBLEM-SOLVING PART OF THE TRADE.”
conditioning business before settling in his cur- rent role. Kieren says he prefers the commercial refrigeration side of the trade. In the future, he plans to set up his own business.
Queensland-based apprentice Katie Hammill- Lovett, is in the first year of her apprenticeship with the Woolworths Group. Katie says she is thriving in her new trade career and describes the experience as amazing.
Like many others her age, Katie wasn’t sure what career path to pursue after finishing high school. With a trade qualified older brother, Ka- tie decided to enrol in a Certificate II in Electro- technology at TAFE Queensland to gain the foundation skills she needed to start applying for apprenticeships.
“I’d been looking into a range of different jobs and thought I might be suited to a trade career,” she says.
Logan Jankovski is a first year apprentice at Commercial Air Conditioning in northern Syd- ney. The 18-year-old knew very little about the trade prior to commencing his apprenticeship. “But once I saw the diverse range of jobs I was
able to do I knew it suited me,” Logan says. “The only other job I had was working as a pa- per delivery person while finishing my Higher School Certificate.”
Logan says the job keeps improving and ex- panding in ways he had never expected. “The op- portunities to learn are endless.”
Second year apprentice, Connor Lavelle, is based in Bathurst in western New South Wales. The 20-year-old is completing his apprenticeship at Al- tech Air and also studies at TAFE in Bathurst. Con- nor enjoys the service side of the business and en- joys the problem-solving part of the trade. “Working in a regional area makes a difference as well, heat- ing and cooling is very important,” Connor says.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS AUGUST 2021
LEFT: Katie Hammill-Lovett
is an apprentice at Woolworths.
ABOVE: Apprentices claim the opportunities to learn are endless.
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