How our training makes a lasting difference

Ellis Training Works founder and MD John Ellis explains the strapline: ‘Committed to education, not just passing exams’.

We say our training is about education, not just passing exams. Here are a few thoughts about what we actually mean by this statement.

When we sat down with our marketing people to look at how to promote the courses we offer at Ellis Training Works, it turned out to be a very useful experience, because it forced us to look at what is most important in the training we provide.

Ellis Training Works is certainly in the business of imparting skills and awarding certification. But our ‘unique selling point’ is to do with something far more important and valuable than that – it’s about knowledge.

The difference between knowledge and skills is the difference between what someone is doing, and why they’re doing it.

Having the skill to do the practical things is important but pretty straight forward, most people can be taught to braze, make joints, fit gauges, add refrigerant, recover refrigerants and so on, quite quickly. Once a person has the ‘skills’, they can use them pretty much for ever. But, they will be reliant on someone who has the ‘knowledge to tell them which skills to use and when.

For example when a faulty system is reported it requires someone with sufficient ‘knowledge’ of the system and the refrigerant properties, air properties and or electrical systems to diagnose the fault using their knowledge before the skills can be put to use.

Our aim is to provide sufficient skills and knowledge in the short time that people are with us in the training centre so that they can practice and develop them while at work.

Ellis Training Works puts great emphasis on equipping trainees with the kind of understanding that will allow them to use their knowledge and their skills to solve problems. It’s not necessarily something you can convey quickly or instantly and it does depend on having an attitude that brings a genuine thirst for knowledge and an enthusiasm for wanting to know more.

I’ve always loved staying at the forefront of thinking in my industry – it’s what enabled me to start this training company of ours in the first place. Like so many industries, ours is constantly on the move. Continuous developments in technology and updated regulations demand not just new skills, but new understanding. The old scenario, where engineers did their initial training, became certificated and then worked through a long career without any further training, is long gone. And that’s a good thing.

What is really important now, is a kind of incremental, non-stop approach to learning, where engineers, in the course of their work, learn something new almost every day by applying their skill and knowledge. This, more than anything else, is what will ensure a healthy future for the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry.

Approved to offer 6090!

We are now approved to offer the new ‘Trailblazer’ qualification for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps and will be doing so from summer this year!

These are exciting times for our industry with this new qualification that can ultimately lead to candidates being considered competent at Engineering Technician Level after completing a three year course.

New RACHP Diploma Apprenticeship Students

41 newly enrolled students have just completed the first ‘block’ of a new RACHP Diploma apprenticeship course at Ellis Training Works in Cuffley. Early indications are that the students are settling down well with good results overall in their first end of block assessment.

We are also enjoying welcoming our new level 3 course students this week.

ACR Champion 2015

This year’s winner of the ACR Champion Award is an individual who we could really only describe as a true gentleman, helpful in every way. He cares about what impact he has on the industry and people within it. His career started in 1965 as a Refrigeration Mechanic and Combat Engineer. He swiftly became an Instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering, instructing military personnel to craft and technician level in refrigeration and air conditioning.

His outstanding contributions to industry include:

• President of the Institute of Refrigeration
• Chairman, Vice Chairman and Director of ACRIB
• Chair of BRA
• Appointed honorary member of the City & Guilds of London in recognition of significant involvement and contribution to the furtherance of his work in the Institute in technical and vocational education and training.
• Member of Managing Panel of the National Training Organisation for the HVAC&R industries
• Chair and member of the Management Committee of the ACR Interest Group for SummitSkills.

Our ACR Champion’s career has taken him all over the world, including Ghana, Spain, Syria, Turkey and Hong Kong. Most recently he has authored the F gas qualification C&G 2079 on behalf of the industry, completely free of charge. Our champion also spent a lot of time reviewing the EU specifications and regulations.

He has worked with the ACRIB Education Committee to ensure the new qualification was up in time, proportionate and relevant. He continues to ensure this is updated and remains corrected over time. He is currently working as a technical author and consultant (again volunteering) for a group of employers working with the IOR and BRA to develop the completely new Trailblazer apprenticeship scheme.

Ellis Training Consultancy was set up in 1991 and has gone from strength to strength providing training to the ACR and Building Services industries. Many of the centre’s recent successes have been demonstrated and rewarded over many years at the highly thought of ACR Trainee of the Year Awards. We at The ACR Journal are thrilled to have awarded John Ellis ACR Champion 2015.