One of Four in Dublin

Now a Fetac Level 6 in Refrigeration and F-Gas 2019 certificate holder, Ruth Gill discovered the HVAC trade by accident. In 2007, while working in retail with plans to apply to the Dublin Fire Brigade, Ruth began an internship at a refrigeration and air conditioning company. Today, Ruth is one of four women who have completed the refrigeration apprenticeship in Dublin, Ireland.

“I don’t run into many at all,” said Ruth when asked if she encounters many women in her line of work. “It doesn’t really impact me much at all. If anything, it makes me more memorable to some clients.”

With 15 years of experience in HVAC, Ruth is looking forward to her next career move. “I’m at the point where I’m starting to question what direction I want to take. I’ll stay on the tools for the foreseeable future, but I do need to do some reflecting and try to figure out where I want to go. My personal goal is just to keep getting better as an engineer, and up-skill with incoming technology such as Turbocor compressors, A2W heat pumps, and chillers.”

Ruth cites engineering specialists Trevor Matthews, Gary McCredie, Mike Mayberry, and Ben Poole as inspiration to better her skills and increase her knowledge of the trade—along with particularly satisfying projects, of course. Last summer, Ruth installed splits in her sister's house, whose A-rated home holds heat incredibly well. “We had just had a heatwave in Ireland, which is rare, and they were about to keep her house at 21 degrees Celsius, compared to 28 degrees Celsius last year,” she said. “I’m also proud that I was chosen to do some work on the Data Centre project in Sweden.”

In regard to being a woman in the skilled trades, Ruth highly recommends it. “Trade life is crazy—you get to work alongside amazingly talented colleagues and work on some incredible equipment. There is so much variety in HVAC, with various areas of expertise,” said Ruth. “This trade has given me so much, and I’m so grateful for it.”

Ruth is currently full-time at Crystal Air as an HVAC engineer.