Six TAFE students and four teachers have been selected as the recipients of the third annual Industry Educational Trade Scholarship (IETS).
The scholarships, which aim to increase opportunities for students studying commercial refrigeration and air conditioning and provide professional development for teachers, are provided by AREMA, AMCA and the ARBS Foundation.
Entries were reviewed by AREMA vice president, Glenn Townsend and AMCA’s executive manager of training and development, Laura Steedman.
The scholarship recipients – from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania – will commence the first week of a two-week residential course at the Refrigeration and Climate Control Centre of Excellence (RCCC) in Melbourne on July 2.
They will return for a second week of study from October 1, 2018.
The RCCC is a partnership between AMCA and Box Hill Institute. It will ensure that recipients of the scholarship are exposed to the latest technological advances for HVACR.
Winners include Christopher Fairley of Ultimo TAFE (NSW) who is employed by the Royal Australian Navy. He will be accompanied by Ultimo TAFE teacher, Brian Griffin.
Two other students from Ultimo TAFE have been selected including Sean Gronich of SEAIR and Nathan Lam of Blue Star Air Conditioning.
Another winning recipient is Jacqui Mercer TasTAFE (Tasmania) who is employed by Degree C and will be accompanied by TasTAFE teacher, Darron Febey.
Sandon Walters of Nirimba College (NSW) who is employed by Tempest Solutions will undertake the scholarship with Nirimba College teacher, John Callaghan.
Michael Weinstock of the Box Hill Institute (VIC) and employed by Chatfield OzCool is the final recipient of a scholarship. He will be accompanied by Box Hill Institute teacher, Chris Hesketh.
The scholarship embodies eight key units of competency from the Master Refrigeration program developed by AMCA. Box Hill will enrol all students and award a Statement of Attainment for each unit completed.
AMCA will provide a Master of Refrigeration certificate for those students who complete all eight units.
AREMA president, Mark Padwick, said the ultimate aim of the IETS was to encourage more students to pursue a career in air conditioning and refrigeration, as well as support those who are already involved.
“Box Hill Institute provides state of the art technology, with training equipment found nowhere else in the country. It’s an example of what a truly great TAFE should look like,” he said.
“I hope there is eventually a Box Hill type facility in every state and territory of Australia.”
AMCA executive director, Sumit Oberoi, said being awarded this unique scholarship was a great outcome for the six apprentices and their accompanying teachers. “We look forward to tracking the progress of these future ambassadors, who will be leaders in our industry,” Oberoi said.
“As an industry we must ensure we continue to address ways to upskill apprentices, and further develop our important trade teachers.”