In the past these have included apprenticeship development, promoting careers, heat pumps and maintenance. This year however, members from across the technical, education, environment, service, international, membership and publications working groups all agreed that the main focus of IOR work should be education and skills. This has now reached a critical point for the whole of the industry and is the single most important unifying issue we are facing.
This decision builds on the momentum of the past two years, which saw, amongst other things, the launch of new STEM toolkits and an expansion to its educational website www.fantasticfridges.com as well as the IOR award winning series of Masterclasses for apprentices, CoolTalks for technicians and the emerging findings of the environmental project 'TICR netzero refrigeration'. By building its future activity around education and skills development, the IOR can help the industry to equip itself for future challenges and opportunities.
Commenting on this direction John Skelton, chair of the educational committee said: 'The IOR needs to continue to show leadership, as an Institute we should be influencing training, changing the language to appropriate training, ensuring the right training for the right role, and the right skills for the future.”
Incoming IOR president Lisa Jayne Cook has highlighted a commitment to this approach: 'I am incredibly honoured and excited to take on the role of IOR President at such a pivotal time for our industry. With pressing challenges and opportunities on the horizon, from decarbonisation to advancing digitalisation, I believe that now, more than ever, the RACHP industry has a critical role to play in shaping a sustainable future… By bringing together our members’ diverse experiences and expertise, we can advance the interests of our industry. The IOR has long been a beacon for knowledge-sharing, education, and guidance. My goal as President is to build upon that foundation, strengthening our support for members and inspiring the next generation to join us in driving sustainable progress in refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pumps.”
To start off this work the Institute will be initiating a project that sets out clearly the gaps in training provision, qualifications and skills. This will mean working more closely with training providers and employers as well as other industry bodies. The output proposed would be a sort of RACHP industry skills white paper to provide evidence on which to base discussions with the Government and other organisations in the training field.
Aligned with this educational focus, the IOR committees are currently developing their plans for delivering in their areas over the next 24 months. The IOR RACHP EngTech Section will for instance look into international refrigerant phase down commitments and deliver information to service engineers and technicians on the implications of such decisions. The Technical Committee which is contributing to European and International standards will continue to involve members in consulting on proposed changes such as the recent webinar on tightness testing practices and is preparing a new Code of Practice on Design for the International Conference on Adaptation to Climate Change. The forthcoming paper programme is firmly focusing on looking to the future starting with the Presidential Address on how digitalisation and AI can help shape the heating and cooling sector and next year the winner of the Beyond Refrigeration Environment Award will share their work on the potential of circular economy principles for the refrigeration sector.
Already members from the education, technical and environment fields are volunteering to get involved in these new IOR-led projects. If you would like to share your expertise and help influence the future of the sector positively, please contact the IOR at ior@ior.org.uk to find out more.