London, UK: Today is World Refrigeration Day celebrated each year on 26 June, the birthday of refrigeration pioneer Lord Kelvin.
This year’s theme is Next Generation Cooling and aims to raise awareness of how the cooling industry is adapting and evolving to meet the challenges and opportunities of increasing demand for low carbon cooling and heating solutions in warming climates
World Refrigeration Day was set up by the World Refrigeration Day Secretariat in Derbyshire, England, in 2019, to honour the people and technologies responsible for creating and maintaining the world we live in and raising awareness and understanding of the significant role that the refrigeration technology play in modern life.
“As an industry, we need to recruit, train and retain people equipped with the knowledge and skills that a modern, forward-thinking industry requires,” industry veteran and World Refrigeration Day founder Stephen Gill said in an announcement.
“This year’s campaign is an opportunity to showcase what we are doing now to ensure we have the diverse and highly skilled workforce that our sector needs for the future,” he said.
“[It] tells the story of how our well-being depends upon sustainable cooling (and heating) and how cooling technology choices and an evolving industry can safeguard the well-being of future generations,” World Refrigeration Day organisers said.
More than 15 million people are employed worldwide in the refrigeration sector and the total number of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump systems in operation worldwide is around five billion.
Opportunities within the industry abound for young people with a wide range of career aspirations. Refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump technology is an industry of the future. It offers diverse career prospects with a variety of occupational profiles as well as innovative technologies.
Refrigeration system engineer and junior application engineer at Bitzer, David Ziegler, said the need for cooling will remain in demand despite global warming. Anyone deciding to take up a job in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry today can make a significant contribution to doing business in a sustainable manner. “I find the industry cool because it’s so omnipresent in all our lives,” Ziegler said. ‘A keen interest in the sciences and refrigeration technology is essential when starting out. For example, if you’re someone that wonders how fresh vegetables from South America end up on supermarket shelves in southern Germany or how ice rinks stay frozen during the summer, then the chances are that you’re in a field where you will feel at home.”
