Success stories

REFRIGERATION A TICKET TO THE WORLD

Steve Orlando has come a long way from his 1980s studies at South Metropolitan TAFE’s Carlisle campus to where he sits now, managing a UK-based refrigeration and air conditioning business.

Steve Orlando started his career in Geraldton and Perth, working on domestic fridges, freezers, evaporative coolers, small commercial display cabinets, packaged air conditioners and supermarket equipment. Today he is running a thriving business with major contracts across Great Britain, having trained in the United States on frequency controlled centrifugal chillers and controls, in Germany on lithium bromide absorbers, and Italy on ammonia absorption heat pumps.

As Managing Director of Orlando Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, he has become a highly regarded industry professional, advocate for the value of high-quality training in the industry, and an international promoter of the career paths that industry training can present.

Orlando says the industry has matured into a complex and challenging field of engineering and offers today’s students exciting, varied, challenging and rewarding career options.

“The training at South Metropolitan TAFE is truly world-class and is also interchangeable with the industry requirements of other countries, including the United Kingdom,” he says. The one-time WA State Apprentice of the Year category winner believes the industry offers the potential for unlimited professional development and training.

“From fairly humble beginnings in my apprenticeship days, three decades on I’m still learning and honing my skills,” he says.

“Whether it’s data logging and oscilloscope diagnostics, or repairing CNC oil-cooling plants, three- and four-stage cascade freezers that chill down to -200°C, centrifugal chillers, pumped glycol systems, or split systems and coldrooms, there is no end to the skills a young technician today can acquire or the career goals they can pursue.” When asked if he has any advice for prospective tradies considering a HVAC-related career, Orlando stresses the need to strive for the best and carve your own path. “Find something niche in your chosen field that not too many people do, study and learn every aspect of it, and become the best at it,” he says. “With big companies having offices all over the world, internal transfers could present great career opportunities.

“I never get bored; there’s always something to learn or something new to tackle.” ■

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

For more information about South Metropolitan TAFE Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, go to www.southmetrotafe.wa.edu.au/ refrigeration-and-air-conditioning

Steve Orlando has taken his refrigeration and air conditioning qualifications around the world.