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Air / Refrigeration Conditioning Technician

The Work
Refrigeration or air-conditioning technicians, sometimes known as building services technicians, are responsible for designing and installing units for controlling temperature, humidity and air quality. They also maintain these units.

Work involves installation and maintenance of systems in domestic, retail, office or industrial environments. Refrigeration work covers sectors such as the food production, transport, storage and distribution services, and hospital medical services.

Technicians' duties include:

undertaking initial surveys of proposed or existing buildings or facilities
producing drawings and estimates, usually by computer-aided design
project work, organising the craftspeople, materials and installation
supervising work through to completion.

In most cases technicians work as part of a team. For a major project, the team might be under the direction of a qualified engineer, but smaller projects may be supervised by technicians.

Hours and Conditions
Technicians work a 38-hour week, but this would be flexible depending on the type of work and deadlines. Overtime may be available.

A designer or project controller would normally work in an office environment, either at a head office or on-site.

Maintenance or installation technicians may have to move from job to job, and can be based anywhere in the UK or overseas for many months at a time. A driving licence is helpful.

Skills and Interests
As a refrigeration or air-conditioning technician, you should:

have a good knowledge of physics and chemistry
be interested in electrical and electronic equipment
have good maths skills for technical calculations and costing
have good spoken communication skills
be able to explain technical matters in clear terms
be able to read technical drawings, cabling plans and basic circuit diagrams
have a polite, pleasant manner
have normal colour vision
be aware of health and safety issues.

Training
As a trainee technician you would normally work towards City & Guilds NVQ / SVQ Level 2 Refrigeration and Small Unit Air Conditioning then take options at Level 3 in one of the following: Commercial and Industrial Air-conditioning Systems; Non-Ammonia Commercial and Industrial Air-conditioning Systems; or Ammonia Refrigeration Systems. Your training will be a mixture of practical work and college work.

Once qualified, you can undertake further training in safe handling of refrigerants to comply with EU environmental directives. Courses are usually short and test knowledge and practical skills. City & Guilds Safe Handling of Refrigerants and Construction Industry Training Board assessments are available. Contact ACRIB for details of assessment centres.

You can move onto higher level courses including BTEC HNC / HND Building Services Engineering (refrigeration and air conditioning). These are available at colleges throughout the country.

As a technician you can work towards the qualification EngTech. To achieve this you must register formally with The Engineering Council as an engineering technician, and you will need:

an appropriate qualification such as an NVQ/SVQ level 3, BTEC national certificate or diploma, or an SQA national certificate group award
at least three years� responsible work experience, including suitable further training and development
to be aged 21 or over
to be a member of the relevant professional institution
to take a final test called a professional review.

The Institute of Refrigeration has various membership grades from student level onwards. Membership allows access to a variety of workshops and training courses run by the Institute.

Foundation and Advanced Modern Apprenticeships (MAPPs) may be available for people aged 16-24. For details see:

MAPPs (England)
Skillseekers (Scotland)
National Traineeships MAPPs (Wales) and
MAPPs (Northern Ireland)

Opportunities
Air-conditioning is an expanding industry worldwide. Rapid economic development overseas means there are many opportunities to work abroad.

Technicians can specialise in particular areas such as transport refrigeration and with further training, they can progress into supervisory management positions.

Salary
The figures below are intended as a guideline only.

New technicians start at around £12,000 a year.

Experienced technicians average about £20,000+ a year.

Senior technicians with supervisory responsibilities may earn over £25,000+ a year.

Further Information
The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board (ACRIB)
Tel: 020 8647 7033
www.acrib.org.uk

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
Tel: 020 8675 5211
www.cibse.org

Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA)
www.hvca.org.uk

Institute of Refrigeration
www.ior.org.uk

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