Six refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump engineers have battled through to the final of this year’s RACHP WorldSkills UK competition from a record-breaking field of 18 qualifiers. Organised by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), the competition is supported by the heating, hot water and heat pump systems provider BAXI, with sponsorship provided by the BDR Thermea Foundation.

The semi-finals took place during the InstallerSHOW at Birmingham’s NEC over three days in June, with the heatwave gave an extra relevance to the skills showcase as the young engineers undertook a gruelling series of practical tasks including fault finding/diagnosis, fabrication, and the service and maintenance of RACHP equipment along with everyday skills like time management and organisation.

The 18 finalists, representing the widest age range ever to reach this stage, had to complete two tasks lasting two and a half hours each. One involved the replacement of components and electrical testing, and the other focused on refrigeration pipework fabrication. They completed their tasks in front of exhibition visitors and under the watchful eyes of a judging panel comprising experts from Beijer Ref, Daikin, Maple Mechanical, Catalen, Shelly Group and BAXI.

Intense competition
Following what they described as “an intense competition” which demonstrated “a massive improvement in the standard of work from previous years”, the judges selected the following six outstanding engineers to take part in the final in Wales this November:

  • Alex Huggins, Bath College, Cotswold Vale Refrigeration
  • Jacob Mclean, Total People Ltd, Setpoint22
  • James Burns, City of Portsmouth College, Trane UK
  • Kaya Yanik, Total People, Sparks Mechanical Services
  • Kian Ferns, Glasgow Kelvin College, Technical Retail Services
  • Martin Oates, Glasgow Kelvin College, CPA Engineered Solutions

There are also two reserves on standby: Prajwal Dulal, Royal Engineers, and Connor Gibson, College of North West London, J.L.Harrison.

Competitors under 21 at the time of the final and who score above average will also be considered for the UK’s international squad preparing to compete at the 2028 Skills Olympics in Aichi, Japan

The finalists will also be part of this year’s BESA Annual Conference at the Brewery, London on October 22 where there will be a dedicated WorldSkills UK theatre. They will also be honoured at the BESA Industry Awards the same evening.

You can register for the Conference here and the WorldSkills UK final will be live streamed with registration available here.