Magnificent six battle it out in UK WorldSkills final

UK: Six refrigeration and air conditioning apprentices will battle it out next week for the chance to represent the UK at WorldSkills in Shanghai in 2026.

The young engineers meet at Oldham College in this year’s WorldSkills UK final having battled through the UK qualifiers at the Beijer Ref training academy in Wetherby, West Yorkshire.

The finalists are:
Samuel Turato, DW Refrigeration, Cardiff and Vale College
Matthew Barker, Johnson Controls, Practical Refrigeration Training Centre
Luke Oliver, Royal Engineers
Frankie Newman, Royal Engineers
Ricky Rossi, Thermocool, Glasgow Kelvin College
James Rowland, Air Control Southern, City of Portsmouth College.

The UK qualifiers saw 34 contestants put through their paces on a range of technical skills including fault finding and brazing. The six finalists will now face a two-day practical test to decide the overall winner.

The competition, organised by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), is sponsored by UK F-gas registration scheme REFCOM and was also supported by Mitsubishi Electric and BESA’s NextGen Network of young engineers.

Whoever comes out on top could find themselves representing the UK at the Skills Olympics in Shanghai in 2026.