A national review of the Certificate III refrigeration and air conditioning course is in its final phase with the last opportunity to provide feedback closing August 7, 2019.
It has been a long process getting to this point with years of industry consultation and stalled starts creating repeated delays.
The review was undertaken to address critical skill gaps in the Cert III course which has been unchanged since the year 2000 although standards and technology have changed significantly during that time.
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association president (RACCA), Kevin O'Shea, said it will be good to see the package finalised and delivered.
“It has been a long and slow process to get to this point but I must say that our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has done a great job and has put in many hours of hard work,” he said.
“With the training package for our industry available for comment, I recommend all interested parties check out the proposed refrigeration/air conditioning section and have their say.”
Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) technical and training manager, Noel Munkman, said that it has taken a number of years for industry to agree on the necessary changes.
He said participants recognised the need to cover a number of new topics ranging from safety, natural refirgerants and maintenance to controls and variable speed drives.
“The revised Certificate III will include the latest refrigerants and technologies,” Munkman said.