The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants in supermarket applications, recently announced the launch of R-TRADE (Refrigeration Technician Recruitment, Advancement, Development and Education). This groundbreaking, nationwide, workforce development program aims to combat the critical shortage of refrigeration technicians by providing needed recruitment, training, and retention programs to build a sustainable and skilled technician workforce. Funding for the program was made available thanks to the support of R-TRADE’s founding partners: Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Kroger, and Albertsons. 

New regulatory requirements and rising corporate climate commitments are driving an industry-wide transition from HFC refrigerants. At the same time, the commercial refrigeration industry faces a growing technician shortage, presenting a significant challenge as the industry prepares to transition to climate-friendly refrigerants. 

“R-TRADE will provide necessary solutions that benefit every sector of the refrigeration industry,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “By fostering a skilled technician workforce, this program meets the grocery refrigeration industry’s immediate needs, while equipping technicians to enable a smooth transition from HFCs that will pave the way for a sustainable and resilient industry.” 

R-TRADE takes a three-pronged approach to addressing the refrigeration technician shortage: 

• Recruitment: Increase awareness and support for this career path to build a robust pipeline of refrigeration technician candidates through youth and adult engagement. 

• Training: Increase access to comprehensive training on refrigeration and advanced refrigeration technologies to collectively train over 14,000 technicians. 

• Retention: Identify and promote best practices, technologies, and other support mechanisms to increase the number of existing technicians who remain in the refrigeration trade. 

The program draws inspiration from NASRC’s Workforce Development Assessment, which identified data-driven solutions to address the labor market shortage of commercial refrigeration technicians. Since its publication, the organization has implemented several solutions identified in the report, including the Natural Refrigerant Training Summit series; a Train-the-Trainer pilot for HVACR school faculty in Southern California; and HVACR student networking events.  

Free Training 

NASRC also announced that registration has opened for its Natural Refrigerant Training Summit in Seattle, Washington, which will take place November 12-14, 2024. The free event is co-hosted with UA Local 32 and Seattle Area Pipe Trades and offers comprehensive training on the latest natural refrigerant technologies. 

The three-day event is open to all refrigeration technicians and includes classroom and hands-on training sessions. On November 12, NASRC will welcome local HVACR students and faculty to network with event participants to increase exposure to natural refrigerant technologies and build industry connections. 

"This event is back by popular demand, and we’re thrilled to bring it to the Pacific Northwest," said Morgan Vanzo, senior director of NASRC. "Technicians are the backbone of our industry, and training is a critical step towards building a sustainable technician workforce." 

The event will feature training from top refrigeration manufacturers and other industry experts on CO₂ fundamentals, installation, and maintenance, as well as propane self-contained cases and micro-distributed systems.  

NASRC will also host a free CO₂ controls workshop in Stockton, California, on December 4-5, 2024. Co-hosted with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the workshop will feature technical training sessions from leading CO₂ control experts. While similar in format to the Natural Refrigerant Training Summit, this event focuses exclusively on in-depth CO₂ refrigeration controls. 

These events are free of charge thanks to the support of premium sponsors Albertsons, Amazon, BITZER US, Climate Pros, CoolSys, Copeland, Costco, Hillphoenix, Kroger, Kysor Warren, The Arcticom Group, and Walmart.