Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps Competition

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

Candidates must be employed and working towards, or have achieved within the last 12 months, a recognised qualification in refrigeration, air conditioning, or heat pumps by the competition registration date.
Candidates must have, or will have achieved, a recognised F-Gas Category 1 certificate prior to the regional event.
Competitors must be at least 16 years old.
Candidates should have no more than 3 years of industry experience (excluding apprenticeship duration) at the time of registration.
There is no limit to the number of competitor per organisation, but we prioritise quality over quantity. Please ensure pre-competition activities identify those capable of producing high-quality work.

How it works

1. Register

Registrations open 9am Monday 3 March and will close midnight Friday 28 March.

2. Entry Stage

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

3. National Qualifiers

Qualifiers will take place between 5 May, 2025 to 27 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.

Prepare students and apprentices by engaging with our benchmarking resources to master their skills and mindset masterclasses to build confidence and resilience on the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab.

6. National Finals

The National Finals are scheduled to take place in Wales during the week beginning 24 November, 2025.

7. Squad UK

Competitors who are age eligible and have achieved the benchmark score will be invited to opt into Squad UK during December 2025 for the WorldSkills 2028 Cycle, subject to the skill progressing to the international competition cycle.