SkillFridge returns under new name
3rd March 2022
UK: Fujitsu has been named as the headline sponsor for this year’s RACHPskills UK competition for UK apprentices.
Following the two-year hiatus created by the coronavirus, the SkillFridge competition is back under the new name of RACHPskills UK to more accurately reflect the competition’s coverage of air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pumps. The competition is recognised by WorldSkillsUK.
WorldskillsUK is a member of WorldSkills, a global movement in over 80 countries. It supports young people across the world via competitions-based training, assessment and benchmarking, with members’ national teams ultimately testing their ability to achieve world-class standards in the biennial WorldSkills competition.
As well as a new name, RACHPskills also has a new competition organising partner in Warners Group Publications, owners of industry magazines ACR Journal and Heat Pumps Today.
This year’s competition begins in April and will comprise six qualifying rounds at training colleges across the country.
Juliet Loiselle of RACHPskills UK commented: “It’s a great pleasure to be the organising partner for World Skills UK. It’s so important for us to support skill development and training to secure the future generation of our industry. We are really looking forward to working closely with Fujitsu, WorldSkills UK staff and of course the competitors.”
Fujitsu UK COO Ian Carroll said: “Fujitsu is a forward-thinking company and we are delighted to be supporting an initiative which will help encourage the next generation of engineers. This is all about working to improve standards across the air conditioning and heat pump sectors, which has to be good news for everyone. I am proud that during my time with Fujitsu we have formed partnerships with a number of colleges throughout the UK with an aim to develop young talent to ensure that our industry is in safe hands for many years to come.”
Registration for the competition is open until April 1. Entrants will be invited to attend one of the following national qualifiers Eastleigh College (April 26), Bath College (April 27), Cardiff & Vale College (May 12), Grimsby Institute (May 17), Practical Refrigeration Training Centre (May 18) and Glasgow Kelvin College (May 24).
Finalists will be announced on September 19, followed by training and development events during October and the national finals in November. Following the National Finals – and a separate medal ceremony for the winners of each competition – eligible participants will be invited to join Squad UK, where they have a chance to represent the UK at WorldSkills Lyon in 2024.
Further information and registration for RACHPSkills here.
