The refrigeration industry is a fast-growing area of work within Building Services and offers a wide range of varied and interesting work opportunities. Nearly every commercial building – shopping centre, supermarket, cinema, nightclub, office – will have some kind of refrigeration system, working away, behind the scenes, making sure that everything that needs to be cool, stays cool!

Many of these systems are for air-conditioning systems so that, when it's baking outside, it stays refreshingly chilled inside. But that's only just one part of it. If you think about your local supermarket, and how it needs to transport and store food, you will begin to understand how important a refrigeration engineer's role is. Food is taken from the producer, via ships and lorries, to the wholesaler's warehouse and from there to the supermarkets - but it needs to be kept at a precise temperature at all times, otherwise it will be ruined and inedible. That's not all. It's thanks to a Refrigeration Engineer's work that human organs for organ transplants can be transported and stored ready for surgeons to save lives, that the blood collected from blood donors can be collected and stored for use all over the country, and that research laboratories are able to store specimens for analysis. Whichever area they specialise in, Refrigeration Engineers are required to install the different components required to make the systems work. It's a well-paid, skilled job.

Many industries view Refrigeration Engineers as specialists and therefore it can be an excellent stepping stone into senior management positions. The work is varied, too. Every project is different, with its own particular challenges. And it is extremely satisfying, knowing that you¹re delivering one of the fundamentals of daily life on which we all rely –even to be able to buy the food we need to live.

Working Conditions

They vary considerably. It depends on where and for whom you work, but you can expect to be out and about most of the time either working at new places on new projects or servicing various existing contracts. Alternatively, you could find yourself managing a large refrigeration plant for a company or keeping a fleet of refrigeration vehicles on the road.

A normal working week is 40 hours, and general pay and conditions are very good, particularly if you work overtime or attend emergency call-outs.

Training
To become a fully trained and competent Refrigeration Engineer takes around four years and consists of a combination of college courses supported by practical experience with an employer. Refrigerants – special substances used within cooling systems – can cause damage to the environment if they are not properly managed, so an important part of the training is to ensure refrigeration engineers understand how to handle such substances safely. For the first two years you will attend college on either a day-release or block-release programme (depending on which college you attend) to study an S/NVQ Level 2 in Mechanical Engineering Services: Small Commercial Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Systems.

During this time you will be asked to keep a personal log which records all your activities, work experience and work-based assessments. In your third and fourth years, you will continue to study this subject to an S/NVQ Level 3. On completion or your four years of training, you will have a recognised industry grading as a skilled operative / craftsman who is also eligible for an industry-recognised Building Engineering Services Skillcard.

Entry Qualifications
General skills:

• You will have to show an aptitude for mechanical, electrical and practical work and be willing to travel and work odd hours
• Clients will often have very specific requirements so you need to be a good listener to ensure you design the system they want
• General health & fitness is essential, and good colour vision is also very important

Specific qualifications:

• 4 GCSEs or SCE standard grades in English, Maths, Science and a Technical subject. You may also be asked to sit further English and Maths assessments at interview stage
• General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) or the Scottish equivalent (GSVQs) in Construction and the Built Environment or Engineering
• Your National Record of Achievement and/or Record of Education & Training will also be considered

Click here to return to What Sort Of Jobs Are Available?