Page 28 - Climate Control News Aug-Sep 2020

REPORT
1Lachlan Drewes, a fourth year appren- tice at System Air on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
The 20-year-old enjoys being a RAC technician because the role is so varied and in- teresting.
“It is the best trade by far because it incorpo- rates everything, a bit of plumbing, electrical trades and HVAC,” he said.
“My day includes regular maintenance duties, breakdowns, and the opportunity to work on a wide variety of equipment from high wall splits to VRV, DX packaged units, refrigeration and hy- dronic systems.
“This is a trade that can take you anywhere be- cause it’s so broad.
“The biggest challenge with this trade is visibility but once you know about it and real- ise how interesting it is, there are plenty of op- portunities.”
But that is exactly what NextGen is all about, raising the profile of the RAC trade and attract- ing more apprentices.
“I was lucky because I lived across the road from someone already in the trade and they of- fered me an apprenticeship straight out of
water at SystemAir because the appren-
Davies is only in his second year but is already securing contracts. His customer service skills are impressive.
He was sent out on a site recently to replace a couple of filters and returned to his workplace with a maintenance contract. Scott spent the first four years of his working life in the air force and was deployed overseas.
“IT IS THE BEST TRADE BY FAR BECAUSE IT IS SO VARIED.” – SYSTEM AIR APPRENTICE, LACHLAN DREWES.
When he returned he began his trade and the 23 year old hasn’t looked back. He likes all areas of the trade but has taken a particular in- terest in hydronics, water balancing and chill- ers. It’s an area he may explore further after completing his trade.
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She also loves showcasing her skills in a male dominated industry. “I feel my fellow team mates have accepted me for who I am and they see me as one of the team,” Abbey said.
“I love being a part of a company that treats you like family. We have an excellent culture which makes coming into work easy, it doesn’t feel like a chore.”
The best part of the job is working in different locations across Melbourne and solving client problems.
Abbey was introduced to the trade by a rela- tive. Before that, she knew nothing about trade. “I hadn’t even heard of it and sadly, this seems to be the norm.”
Her future goals? “Finish my apprenticeship and then I would like to do large scale commer- c4ial refrigeration installations.”
Canberra-based apprentice, Ryan Har- ris, is in his final year at ETS Refrigera- tion. He is looking forward to completing his trade and taking on more challeng-
ing jobs as his skills improve.
Ryan is one of the lucky ones. He was about to
start an apprenticeship as an electrician but was saved by ETS Refrigeration. The 20-year-old loves the versatility of the RAC trade.
“We learn everything here although I prefer the refrigeration work over the AC side,” he said. “We do commercial refrigeration projects here but as an apprentice I had to start at the bottom of course.
“I first began doing jobs at small cafes – the big jobs were for the big guys. But now I’ve started doing more challenging work and have worked my way up to being on call.”
There is a surprisingly
high number of apprentices with fathers who are also fridgies.
chool,” Lachlan said.
SystemAir second year apprentice, Scott
Abbey McGeachin, third year appren- tice D&T Refrigeration in Melbourne, studies at Box Hill TAFE and loves her
job because “no two days are the same”.
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Davies. There must be something in the
tices there are passionate about what they do and it shows in their work.
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