IRHACE apprentices calm under pressure

23 November 2023

Congratulations to the top placegetters of the 2023 Wallie Askew Memorial Workskills Competition: first place— Alex Arnold (Auckland) from Whites Refrigeration, in second place — Jack Butler (New Plymouth) from Active Engineering, and in third — Koenraad Mullis (Christchurch) from McAlpine Hussman NZ.

The Wallie Askew Competition is run by the Institute of Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers of New Zealand Inc (IRHACE) and is the premier skill competition for young apprentices in the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC & R) fields.

Sally Gray, our WorldSkills New Zealand Operations Coordinator was following the action in Palmerston North for the recent two day National final. She says it was a great to see the strong industry support for the competition and see the six competitors perform across HVAC & R disciplines – under time pressure and the watchful eye of judges.

Following on from this highly successful competition, WorldSkills New Zealand and IRHACE will begin the process of considering the candidate to represent New Zealand at the WorldSkills International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Competition in Lyon next year.