Record year for SkillPLUMB entries 

A record number of entrants have taken part in the 2022 qualifying heats of SkillPLUMB, the industry’s prestigious plumbing skills competition aligned to WorldSkills UK.  

After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event is back for this year and has so far held an impressive programme of seven heats that took place at host venues across the UK. In total, over 120 plumbing apprentices and students entered in the hope of becoming the SkillPLUMB UK champion later this year. 

With the heats now over, next month the eight highest scoring competitors across all qualifying heats combined will be announced and invited to take part in the grand final at Middlesbrough College in November. 

SkillPLUMB is the only industry event that is part of the WorldSkills UK competition framework, which means those who excel at the UK final may have chance to participate in the international World Skills Lyon 2024 event and compete on a global stage. 

The BPEC Charity organises SkillPLUMB on behalf of the plumbing and heating industry. Neil Collishaw, Chief Executive Officer of BPEC, said: ‘Congratulations to all those who have taken part in the qualifying heats and thank you to their employers and training providers. All competitors so far have been great ambassadors for our industry.

“We’d like to say a particular thank you to our hosts – CITB NI, Harrow College, Cardiff & Vale College, Moulton College, Hartlepool College and Glasgow Clyde College – for enabling us to stage and showcase all the talented competitors. 

“Delivering a competition of this standard is not possible without our industry supporters, so I’d also like to say a big thank you to our sponsors and a special mention to our headline sponsor Monument Tools, along with our industry expert judges Paul Dodds MBE, Tracey Richardson, Ronnie Ferris and Jerry Whitely.”

For more information on SkillPLUMB visit: https://bpec.org.uk/the-bpec-charity/activities/skillplumb/