Trainers from nine Pacific Island nations including Samoa are currently undergoing training in Australia on refrigeration and air conditioning equipment installation, maintenance and repair.

The training comes courtesy of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturers of Australia (AREMA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), who are working together to help Pacific nations improve their HVACR [heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration] training capacity.

Support from the Australian government has enabled the 13 trainers from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Palau and Samoa undertake training at the Box Hill Institute in Melbourne, Victoria.

AREMA president Mark Padwick said in a statement released on Tuesday that the training covers installation, maintenance and the repair of RAC equipment.

As a result of high-quality training, technicians are able to deliver better equipment longevity and customer comfort, energy savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr. Padwick said.

The Pacific Island trainees will also benefit from the development and deployment of training pods, which include both a split system air conditioner and a refrigeration display cabinet.

By choosing this equipment – which is in use throughout the Pacific in increasing numbers – the training also focuses on how to safely work with flammable refrigerants, both R32 and hydrocarbons.

The project is a key part of the Montreal Protocol HCFC phase-out. Under the Protocol, developed countries have been reducing their consumption of HCFCs and will completely phase them out by 2020. Developing countries agreed to start their phase-out process in 2013 and are now following a stepwise reduction until the complete phase-out of HCFCs by 2030.