The Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA) has assisted the DIVT to hold the first ever Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (RAC) grade test. The EEA had funded the development of the national system for the certification of RAC technicians to ensure competency and strict compliance with environmental statutes in which Eswatini is a signatory. Eswatini is a signatory of the Montreal Protocol; multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals referred to as ozone depleting substances (ODS). 

There has been need to protect the ozone layer from all kids of destruction including ones caused by gases from refrigeration and air-conditioning operations. Ensuring standards for practitioners in the operations of refrigeration and air-conditioning is vital to protect the environment and the ozone layer. The EEA would not be able to phase out the ODS and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) refrigerants without involving the RAC technicians and equipping them with training on safety and handing of hydrocarbons as the ideal replacement for ODS and HFCs.EEA has helped in the development of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) qualification for the DIVT to improve both grade testing standards and the apprenticeship training guidelines. This qualification will ensure that HVAC technicians or mechanics have the required and relevant qualifications to practice for the protection of the environment. The EEA funded all the workshops for the development of the qualification and trade testing standards.

EEA has been partly assisted by the Technical and Vocational Skills Certification Enhancement Project with consultancy fees for the facilitator in all the workshops.  To see the work to its completion, EEA has further funded the first-ever grade testing for Grade 3 test. EEA has bought fridge cabinets, freezers, porta pack gas welding equipment and a number of consumables for the grade test. The sitting allowances and the hospitality for the trade testing panel members were also catered by EEA. The grade test started on Tuesday,29^th August 2023 and will run till Friday the 01^st of September 2023.

A total of 30 candidates are expected to be tested by the end of the trade tests. All the candidates will be doing a Grade 3, an entry level test. The trade tests are conducted at Gwamile VOCTIM’s department of electrical engineering. The electrical department has the refrigeration workshop and the workshop had been greatly upgraded by the Technical and Vocational Skills Certification Enhancement Project with training equipment.