Luke Haile, a refrigeration technician from Lightfoot Defence, will represent the UK at WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon (10-15 September) on equipment supplied by Fujitsu in France, having completed his training on similar kit donated by Fujitsu in the UK.

The former apprentice, from Hampshire, won the WorldSkills UK gold medal in 2022, when Fujitsu was headline sponsor of the RACHP event. That victory earned him the right to compete at WorldSkills 2024, known as the 'Skills Olympics'.

In keeping with their efforts to help develop the next generation of engineers, Fujitsu has maintained its relationship with Haile and continued to offer support by providing equipment for him to train on, under the guidance of Mark Forsyth, a WorldSkills UK training manager and owner of Coriolis International.

Haile said: “Fujitsu General Air Conditioning has supported my WorldSkills journey from the very beginning. Its sponsorship during the early stages encouraged not only myself but other young and up-and-coming engineers.

“Fujitsu’s backing extended far beyond sponsorship; offering me access to their technical experts and a wide range of advanced equipment to train on, as well as onsite visits. This invaluable support has not only sharpened my skills but also shaped me into becoming a better engineer. I am deeply grateful and am certain the friendships forged will extend beyond the WorldSkills final.’’

Martyn Ives, commercial director, Fujitsu General Air Conditioning UK, said: “Fujitsu is extremely proud of its efforts to help improve standards across the air conditioning and heat pump sectors. We have formed partnerships with a number of colleges across the UK and we are delighted to have been able to help Luke on his way to Lyon.

“We donated a wall mounted split system for Luke to train on and hopefully that training will help him to prove his worth against the best young engineers from around the world.’’

Ben Blackledge, chief executive, WorldSkills UK said: “We are extremely grateful for the continued support from Fujitsu towards Luke’s training programme for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 and for our National Finals which will take place in Greater Manchester in November.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Luke and Team UK; they are fantastic role models.  We will use their participation at WorldSkills to boost the prestige of technical and vocational education, inspiring many more young people to take up technical and vocational training across the UK.”