Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps Competition

Overview

Refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump systems provide the conditions that are required for health, comfort and manufacturing, they also control the essential environments required for food, pharmaceuticals, and digital data. The number of heat pump installations have shown sustained year-on-year growth in the UK over the last six years and are seen as a major part of meeting the country’s Net Zero targets.

The competition assesses candidates by showcasing their skills and knowledge through tasks inspired by real life industry scenarios. Encompassing a comprehensive range of skills and may include digital programming, fault finding/diagnosis, fabrication, service and maintenance of technical equipment.

The skills you need to demonstrate

Interpreting detailed drawings/schematics
Fault finding/diagnosis for control circuits
Flame brazing
Fabrication and installation
Recovery of refrigerants
Pressure testing
Evacuation/dehydration
Charging refrigerants
Legislative record keeping

Entry criteria

This is an individual competition open to candidates 16 years and over
Candidates are required to be working towards a level 3 qualification in refrigeration/air conditioning/heat pumps or, achieved such qualification within the last 12 months
Candidates must have no more than 3 years industry experience (excluding the apprenticeship duration)
There is no restriction on the maximum number of candidates allowed to participate from each organisation in this competition

How it works

1. Register

Registrations open 09:00am Monday 3rd of March and will close midnight Friday 28th of March.

2. Entry Stage

Entry Stage will be released between Monday 3rd of March with a final deadline of 2nd of May 2025 (Exact dates will vary by competition).

3. National Qualifiers

Qualifiers will take place between 5th of May 2025 to 27th of June 2025 (Exact dates will vary by competition).

4. Announcement of finalists

Scores are quality assured and Finalists are announced

5. Training and development

To help finalists prepare ahead of the UK Final, we will provide relevant technical training and share mindset development techniques, to support them to remain focused on achieving success.

6. National Finals

National finals will take place during a week in November 2025 in Wales.

7. Squad UK

Competitors who are age eligible and have achieved the benchmark score will be invited to opt into Squad UK during December 2024 for the WorldSkills 2026 Cycle, subject to the skill progressing to the international competition cycle.