Building diversity in HVAC&R: Q&A with Ree McCaig

HVAC&R News: How did you get into a career in HVAC&R?

Ree McCaig: I was employed at the National Australia Bank (NAB) for almost 15 years and had returned on a part-time basis after the birth of my first child, Connor. In 2002, the bank was restructuring and offering those who could not be redeployed packages.  Chris, my area manager, wasn’t quite ready to retire and wanted to purchase a business (not necessarily HVAC) for the last few years of his working life.

My husband’s family owned McCaig Air Conditioning and were looking to sell and retire. Chris came to my husband Cam and me with a proposition to enter into a partnership and purchase the business together. In 2002 (while pregnant with my second child, Alessia), we purchased the business from Cam’s parents who started it out of the back of a car in 1961. Chris stayed for about five years and eventually retired.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities as the owner of an HVAC&R business? What do you love about the job, and what are the major challenges?

I suppose you can say I’m the office manager, doing everything from wages, staffing, monthly claims and OH&S, while also serving as a psychologist, friend and anything administratively. For the most part I enjoy it; our staff are fabulous and really are like family. The challenging parts are the ever-changing “red tape” that comes with any business. There is so much paperwork, which can be quite time consuming and, I believe, over the top.

Has it been difficult to attract apprentices to the trade in recent times? What approaches do you take to unearth the next generation of talent?

Over the years it hasn’t been too difficult to attract apprentices, but since COVID it has become somewhat more challenging. We use a group training organisation to help recruit apprentices, and more recently we’ve used social media.

Over the years we have had a mix of young people straight out of school and mature-age apprentices. Currently most of our apprentices are mature-age and two of those are women. Two are also onto their second apprenticeship with us! Dual tradespeople are an asset to any business, and we definitely encourage anyone wanting to complete a second one with us.

We will give anyone an opportunity if they are willing to learn. as we believe if you invest in them, they will add value to your business. Apprentices are the next generation of workers and no matter how “tech savvy” the world becomes, tradespeople will always be required.

Do you think being in a regional area makes it harder to attract and retain apprentices?

I don’t believe being in a regional area makes it any more difficult to obtain apprentices, although we have had several move to the city for more money and experience. This is something we have never not entertained; our door is always open for them to return. Interestingly enough, a lot have returned over the years after they are qualified.

Do you think women often face barriers in entering the HVAC&R industry and reaching leadership positions? What can be done to remove some of these barriers?

While there are probably cultural and physiological barriers for some women in the industry, we haven’t really experienced that in our business. Maybe this is due to myself and Cam making sure we create a great environment to work in, where everyone is treated the same if they are willing to put in the hard work.

I truly believe your business is only as good as your staff. We can’t be everywhere and our staff are the face of our business, whether it be in person, on a job site or on the end of the phone.

What strategies has the business used to attract more female applicants to jobs like technicians and service managers?

The best strategies to attract women are word of mouth and encouraging a safe and happy workplace. Besides myself, we have currently have seven female workers: two refrigeration mechanic apprentices, two service manager assistants, one fully qualified mechanical plumber – who has come into the office after having a baby as our project manager assistant/social media guru – one accounts officer and a warehouse assistant. The best thing about these women is they have all added value to our business in one way or another.

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