THE search for the UK’s brightest acr star is underway with the semi-finals of SkillFRIDGE 2009 taking place on April 22-23.
Hosted at South Birmingham College, the UK semi-finals round of the SkillFridge competition sees 16 cooling candidates try to freeze out the competition by showing off their practical skills (brazing and electrical wiring) and theoretical knowledge during the two days.

The 16 competitors were selected for the semi-finals after being nominated by their employers and training centres.

The highest scoring competitors who prove able to keep a cleverly cool head under pressure will be invited to the finals this July. The UK SkillFRIDGE winner then get the chance to be selected for the WorldSkills competition in 2011.

The competition is organised by SummitSkills, the sector skills council for building services engineering. SummitSkills is urging acr employers to visit the event to watch the competition and find out how getting involved can benefit their business.

Neil Collishaw, head of skills competitions and awards at SummitSkills, said “ Competing helps motivate staff to aspire to higher levels of achievement and instills mutual pride in their jobs and the company they work for. For companies, skills competitions present an opportunity to enhance their reputation as a business and an employer, as well as improving the skills of their staff, who ultimately drive their future success and profitability.”

SkillFRIDGE is part of Skill M&E – four skills competitions organised by SummitSkills which aims to find and reward the best mechanical and electrical engineers in the building services sector.