Education and training can provide people with life changing experiences and opportunities.

The Foundation believes that by supporting individual students to improve their education and for organisations to develop and deliver education and training opportunities a productivity, competitiveness and growth can be achieved.

Individuals, whether they are already employed in the industry or studying programs that may lead them to join the industry are worthy of support also.

For these reasons the Foundation will support individuals and organisations through its education grants program.

Individuals

Persons who are already employed in the industry and students at TAFE or university may apply for grants. Our goal is to encourage people to extend their skills into advanced and new areas.

Scholarships are paid to individual people to enable them to advance their skills. This means the financial support may be sought to undertake training in addition to the base level training provided through an apprenticeship or traineeship course, or to undertake post trade training.

Where an employer requires a person to undertake training as part of their employment, then the employer should meet the cost of the training.

Students who are not employed in the industry will need to be studying in a course or program that is relevant to the airconditioning and refrigeration industry.

Education grants may cover costs in any of the categories –

• Tuition fees.
• Material fees.
• Books and publications, (excluding software)
• Attendance at conference/seminars.
• Other specialist fees.

An application for a scholarship grant must be made via the application form on the website.  The application form individuals need to use to apply for a grant is available below.

Companies & Industry Associations

The public education system provides access to a wide range of quality education offerings to individuals and the industry. These courses, however, usually are generalist in nature.

Companies and industry associations have developed training programs to: –

• Fill gaps in the range of skills programs.
• Offer niche courses.
• Deliver high cost industry programs that are not financially viable in the public education system.
• Deliver programs into thin markets.

In response to the financial restrictions and pressures which exist in the public education system, the industry itself must take a greater role in the development and delivery of training and development. The Foundation will assist with this task.

When providing funds for this purpose the Foundation will take steps to ensure there is no substitution of existing funding for courses from the application placed before it or double counting of funding provided.

Generally the Foundation will not fund a company or industry association to deliver training programs, however individuals who participate in the course may apply for funding under the scholarship program.

Where organisations apply for grants to develop programs the Foundation will require the proposing organisation to make an important financial contribution to the program.

The policy approach of the Foundation is to help organisations to set up new and additional program offerings, that is, “seed” such programs. To continue to be able to work in this policy context, the Foundation will not continue to fund programs beyond the early stage of implementation.

The application form which companies need to use to apply for a grant is available below.  To apply for a scholarship grant from the Foundation, applicants need to complete and forward the relevant application form to the Foundation. The trustees will review all applications received and decide at their sole discretion which applications will receive funding support.