This year’s WorldSkills competition will be more important than ever because of the growing recruitment crisis among young people in the UK, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
Entries are now open for the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) category of the world’s largest practical skills competition designed to celebrate and showcase emerging technical talent.
WorldSkills involves more than 80 countries and is a partnership between the education sector, businesses, and governments. It was set up over 60 years ago to help young people develop through competitions-based training, assessment, and benchmarking to support economic growth and create employment opportunities.
BESA is an organising partner of the WorldSkills UK competition that celebrates emerging and existing technical RACHP skills. Talented engineers aged 16 and above are now being invited to put their skills to the test and could ultimately win a place on the UK team that will compete at the 2028 international Skills Olympics in Japan.
WorldSkills UK said it was helping Britain become a ‘skills economy’ by “boosting the prestige of technical and professional education by embedding world-class training standards…to help drive investment, jobs, and economic growth”.
NEET crisis
However, the country is also experiencing an unprecedented drop in the number of young people finding work with an estimated 957,000 aged between 16 and 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) at the end of last year. This represents more than 12% of that age group.
Yet, many RACHP firms say a shortage of suitable candidates for apprenticeships and other entry level positions is one of the biggest barriers to their growth and profitability.
“There is a glut of young talent out there, who may not have even thought about our industry as a potential career choice,” said BESA’s head of competence Stuart Rattray. “However, RACHP has extraordinary potential and future growth prospects which we need to celebrate and promote.
“WorldSkills UK is a chance for our best and brightest to show off their own talent, but they will also be demonstrating what makes this industry so dynamic and important including our vital role in key economic growth areas like healthcare, data centres, food safety and heat pumps.”
Rattray also stressed the business benefits to employers of putting forward candidates for the competition with many in the past reporting how the experience helped to improve their engineers’ confidence and all-round skills.
“There are also tangible PR benefits and improved regional visibility, particularly if their entrant does well,” he added. “Many past entrants also talk about how it gave them the confidence to take the next step forward in their careers.”
Competitors complete an online one hour entry stage test focused on core knowledge before progressing to Regional Qualifiers at the InstallerShow in Birmingham this June. Six will then be chosen to take part in a series of hands-on tasks at the National Finals held over three days in Wales this November.
BESA provides a range of tests, designed by industry experts, involving fault‑finding, fabrication, refrigerant handling and assembling high‑quality system components. Clear guidance, structured tasks and pre competition resources support all learning styles, including neurodivergent entrants, and financial support is provided to ensure people from all backgrounds can access the competition.
Entrants will have to demonstrate their skills and knowledge through tasks inspired by real life industry scenarios. They will be tested on fault finding/diagnosis, fabrication, service, maintenance, and record keeping as well as their ability to charge equipment and recover refrigerants in line with environmental legislation.
The competition is suitable for students studying towards a Level 3 or equivalent apprenticeship or who have qualified within the last 12 months.
They must also have no more than three years industry experience, excluding apprenticeship duration, and must hold (or be due to hold before June 23) an F‑Gas Category 1 certification.
“This an amazing opportunity for people in our industry to demonstrate their talent in an international competition in front of an expert group of judges,” said Rattray. “However, it does more than showcase and develop talent, it also helps to raise the profile of sector, identify skills gaps in specific areas and can make great strides towards addressing them thanks to its close links with government.”
For more information about the competition and to enter now visit BESA’s WorldSkills Competition page and details of sponsorship opportunities are here.