The Australian Refrigeration Council CEO, Glenn Evans, explains why working in the climate control sector is a career of first choice for so many young people today.
The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) is proud to continue its support for CCN’s NextGen programme to recognise emerging talent in the climate control sector and promote this specialised sector as a career of first choice.
For smart young people thinking about career, our industry has it all – variety on the job, working with the latest technology, long term job security and great pay. Just as importantly, their work is vital to our environment, and to life as we know it. Without them, we can’t build new cities, hospitals or transport food.
Almost every aspect of everyday life is touched by this vital industry – transporting our food, maintaining comfortable living and working environments, and securing medical supplies and vaccines. It would be a very different world without efficient, reliable climate control.
It’s great to see so many young women in this year’s NextGen. From ARC’s own data we know they are joining our industry in unprecedented numbers.
In the last five years, female Refrigerant Handling Licence (RHL) holders have increased by more than 400%, and more than half of them are under 29 years old. Not only that, but the total number of apprentices in our industry is at an all-time high, with 11% of RHLs being training licences. Clearly, ours is an industry on the move.
NextGen is a fine showcase for the achievements of very talented young people. We need clever people like them, and this is an important way to nurture and reward young talent, to offer real world opportunities during their early years, and to encourage their love of the work and pride in how important it is.
Few industries offer such diversity and challenge. In addition to areas like aviation, manufacturing, marine and mining, there are countless career options in the wider stationary and automotive sectors. NextGen encourages entrants from all these sectors, and it is always encouraging to see employers proudly nominating their brightest and best candidates.
This is an opportunity to highlight our industry’s commitment to serving customers and protecting the environment. As we embrace ever-advancing technology to increase energy efficiency and drive towards net zero, our industry continues to deliver interesting, challenging and rewarding careers.
Our sector applies advanced technology to make a real and positive difference, and we know this appeals to today’s clever students. It also appeals to people who may have another career and see potential to do something more specialised and engaging. Each year we see this in the outstanding young Next Gen “Top 20 Under 25”.
The NextGen winners for 2025 continue to show what fine people we have in our industry, both the young people themselves and the experienced people who train and employ them.
