Tom Woolston

I studied product design and resistant materials at school, which gave me a good grounding to progress - not in just one route but with different options and avenues. Once I finished my A-levels, I saw a four-year Refrigeration and Air Conditioning apprenticeship through Star advertised on the government website.

Alongside the college element of my apprenticeship, I had a work mentor who took responsibility for my day-to-day training. They also helped me gain my Level 2 NVQ and Level 3 NVQ. After my apprenticeship, I did a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Building Services Engineering as part of Star’s Young Progression Team. It was all funded, so I didn’t have to worry about student loans.

If I'm in the office, I might be helping to produce a concept design for a client before it is issued. Once we agree on the concept design, we move into the detailed design phase, which includes pipe sizing, vessel sizing, refrigerant charges and identifying the amount of heat we can get from the source, whether through water, air or from the ground.

It can take months to establish one of these designs as there are many people involved in getting the design conceptualised. When the design is approved, we issue documents to our factory to build it to our specifications. Once it is all designed and installed, it goes on to heat people’s homes and businesses which is amazing. However, as we offer clients a comprehensive maintenance and service package, we will be on-site one or two days a week to confirm the heat pump is still running correctly and meeting energy requirements.

If I'm on-site, we will sit down for a coffee or tea and discuss our plans for the working day. We ensure all the documents are in place to allow us to work safely and efficiently as a team. Our work in the morning can often involve pipefitting, fault finding and commissioning. After lunch, we carry on with our designated duties until around 4:00 pm, when we pack up for the day.