Refrigerant handling gets its own SKILLcard
Engineering Services SKILLcard and the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Industry Board (ACRIB) have launched a joint ACRIB/SKILLcard scheme. The new cards combine the environmental responsibilities of refrigerant handling under the ACRIB registration scheme and the health-and-safety requirements of the Engineering Services SKILLcard into a single registration process.
The cards will independently verify that the holder has demonstrated competence in handling various refrigerants, as well as health and safety; they will also display additional relevant qualifications. Registration continues to be voluntary but is expected to rapidly become a mandatory requirement amongst end users.
There are separate cards for refrigerant handler, technicians and engineers. They will cost £35 each.
David Bostock, past chairman of ACRIB and who worked with SKILLcard on this new card, comments, ‘The new ACRIB SKILLcard will combine the benefits of a single joint card scheme with more detailed information about the operative’s qualifications in various refrigerants, including carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons.
‘We expect take-up of the register to grow rapidly as a result of increased recognition amongst end users and demand for individuals to prove competence on site. The ACRIB scheme currently has 5000 operatives, and there is the potential for this to increase to 15 000 or 20 000.’
