
Casey White, Apprentice Refrigeration Engineer
Casey chose to pursue an apprenticeship in industrial refrigeration engineering because of the industry’s fascinating complexity and the opportunity to develop versatile, valuable skills. At Star Refrigeration, he benefits from a well-rounded apprenticeship that includes hands-on site work, office-based training, and one day a week dedicated to college learning. Supported by mentors, a structured training program, and digital courses, Casey has been able to gain practical experience while building his theoretical knowledge. He’s particularly inspired by the scale and complexity of the systems he works on, finding each day to be an exciting step toward becoming a qualified engineer.
What inspired you to pursue an apprenticeship in industrial refrigeration engineering?
It is a very interesting industry to be a part of as you gain skills in different aspects of engineering such as mechanical and electrical, that will make you a reliable and versatile engineer.
How did you learn about Star Refrigeration’s apprenticeship program, and what made you choose to join the company?
After a lot of research about the company and listening to feedback from others working in the field, I discovered Star Refrigeration has an industry leading apprenticeship program for aspiring engineers. You gain a lot of knowledge and skills with-in their programme that make you a highly valued engineer.
What does a typical day look like for you during your apprenticeship?
On site days: perfectly structured with both maintenance and service jobs.
Office and college days: learning every day with a lot of key information that will end up making an individual a key asset to the company.
How has Star Refrigeration supported your learning and development during your apprenticeship?
Star refrigeration offer digital courses that can be completed and gives an individual key information on specific topics that will help them both during their apprenticeship and as a qualified engineer as well.
Are there any specific projects you’ve worked on that have been particularly exciting or rewarding?
In my opinion, any job that is given by Star to complete when on site is both exciting and rewarding. While visiting customer sites, you get to see the impressive scale of an industrial refrigeration plant and also gain the knowledge and understanding of how to perform service and maintenance tasks on these systems.
What kind of mentorship or guidance have you received from more experienced engineers at Star?
The guidance that has been given by my assigned mentor has enabled me to understand a full refrigeration plant which will help in the near future. I now also understand key components that are with-in a system. All of this learning is apart of the apprenticeship program which is delivered by the training team alongside the support of my mentor that has lots of experience in refrigeration.
How do you balance hands-on work with the academic learning aspects of your apprenticeship?
This is all balanced by the time you get given to come into the office to complete theory work for college and work by the training team, as well as time on site that is also given during the week.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about refrigeration that you never knew before starting?
The most interesting thing that I have learnt is that there are so many types of components with-in one type of system. In addition to that I never knew that you could have more than 1 plant with-in an entire system (cascade system).
What advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship in industrial refrigeration engineering?
Just be ready for the experience that you are going to get as you will be shocked to see what this industry is about.