Page 10 - Climate Control News July 2019

News
LEFT: All supporters have the opportunity to purchase a Kirby T-shirt for $10
Strengthening the trade
THE KIRBY APPRENTICE Fund has been es- tablished to support and strengthen the techni- cal skills of the HVACR industry.
Kirby launched the fund on World Refrigera- tion Day (WRD), June 26, 2019.
The company will begin to raise funds through various programs and use those funds to provide trade tools and skills development training to in- dustry apprentices.
All supporters have the opportunity to pur- chase a Kirby T-shirt for $10 from a Kirby branch,
with all profits directed to the Kirby Apprentice Fund. The trade t-shirts carry the message, ‘strengthening our trade’ – which is the essence of the fund’s purpose.
In addition, Kirby account customers will have the opportunity to contribute a voluntary refrigerant levy to the fund, which will also be fully invested back into the industry for the pro- vision of tools and training.
While the Kirby Apprentice Fund was launched on WRD, the fund and fund-raising
programs will continue and expand into the future. To maximise opportunities from the fund, all HVACR trade apprentices are en- couraged to register their details http://www. kirbyhvacr.com.au/kirby-apprentice-fund- registration.
Supporting apprentices is a tradition that has long been part of the Kirby history. For over 20 years, Kirby has been the official Gold Partner, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning of World- Skills Australia.
ABOVE: There was no shortage of technicians at the landmark training event.
LEFT: A2/A2L refrigerants include R32, R1234yf and R1234ze.
Also in attendance was Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association president (RACCA), Kevin O’Shea.
He said RACCA will be working with the Superior Training Centre to rollout the course nationally.
“We are planning a national roadshow to reach as many technicians as possible,” O’Shea said.
“Employers really do have a duty of care to en- sure staff can work safely and competently with new refrigerants.”
Training in Class A2/A2L refrigerants here at last
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST FORMAL training course on how to handle class A2/A2L flammable re- frigerants was held last month at the Sydney headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air Conditioners Australia (MHIAA).
Although technicians have been working with R32 for a number of years and over a million units have been installed in Australia there has been no formal training available to address this criti- cal skills gap.
It was time to take the lead on this important issue, according to Adrian Brown, the general manager of sales & planning at MHIAA.
“This training is vitally important for industry which is why we formed a partnership with the Superior Training Centre to make this course available to technicians,” he said.
“All of the technicians here today will receive an accredited unit of compe- tency once they pass the course.”
Superior Training Centre quality assurance manager, Ben Peters, said its all about safety.
“Its important for technicians to know how to safely handle, store and transport these refriger- ants,” Peters said. “There really is no room for complacency; knowledge is life.”
When developing the course, Peters said the training centre liaised with the Australian Re- frigeration Council (ARC) and manufacturers to ensure the content was correct.
He said the course includes information on how to correctly recover R32 and how to recog- nise different ratings and cylinder labels for this class of refrigerant, as well as emergency proce- dures for safety in the workplace.
Marshall Air technician, Matt Johnson, said R32 was introduced after he completed his
Certificate III qualifications.
“The aim is to get up to date with R32 be-
cause there hasn’t been a lot of informa- tionavailable,”Johnsonsaid.
“By addressing this knowledge gap it benefits the business and most importantly, my
customers.”
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