On 23rd June 2021, forty Year 9, 10 & 11 students from James Busby High School, Liverpool Boys High School, Ashcroft Boys High School and Miller Technology High School gathered to participate in a Mathematics in Trade Workshop, focusing on the refrigeration and air conditioning trades. Facilitated by the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (RACCA), the workshop was aimed at placing a focus on the HVAC&R industry and positioning it as an important and aspirational trade for school students to consider.

The workshop involved an array of practical activities, including applying school mathematics skills to real world scenarios – a key goal of the Educational Pathways Pilot Program, which is designed to improve higher education and career outcomes for young people.

The team at Daikin took students through a number of exercises including measuring air conditioning unit size requirements for houses, calculating co-efficient of performance (COP) and completing heat load calculations. Students got hands-on with a working 2.5kW split system as well as a disassembled system to gain an understanding of the components used in the manufacture, installation, maintenance and servicing needs of air conditioning units.

“We know that when students consider getting into a trade, they immediately think of the typical trades like plumbing, electrical and carpentry. At Daikin, we want to hero the HVAC&R trade by highlighting the huge number of applications it impacts in our lives. We aim to ensure the longevity of our industry and workshops like this enable us to promote our love for the trade and pass on our knowledge to the next generation,”

With its commitment to the development of technical capability, the Daikin Training Academy aims to upskill those involved in the industry, both internally and externally. Daikin looks forward to continued involvement as RACCA and the NSW Department of Education plan to roll out the workshops to more schools.