Six talented m&e workers have emerged victorious from the SkillPIPE 2009 semi-final contest and will now go on to compete in Britain's first ever UK SkillPIPE finals.

The young contenders will compete for the No.1 spot at the UK finals, which is hosted at Leeds College of Building from September 29-October 1.

To get to the finals, the contestants scored highly in a theory test and practical installations, including pipe fitting and pipe welding, within tight timescales.

"With the introduction of our heating and ventilating competition this year, we will be crowning the first ever UK SkillPIPE champion" said Neil Collishaw, head of skills competitions at SummitSkills.

"The competitors have done well to get to this stage, but to succeed in the UK final, they must push themselves even further to prove they are the best of the best", he added.

The six 2009 SkillPIPE finalists are:

· John Clark (25), employed by SIAS Building Services in Keighley and trained by BEST Ltd and Leeds College of Building.

· Nick Lester (25), employed by SES in York and trained by BEST Ltd and Leeds College of Building.

· Ian Tattersall (23), employed by Thermal Transfer Ltd in Derbyshire and trained by Manchester College.

· Ryan Lee (22), employed by Acorn Mechanical in Leicestershire and trained by New College Nottingham.

· Michael Smith (22), employed by Lorne Stewart Plc. and trained by BEST Ltd and Newcastle College.

· Carl Donovan (23), employed by Munro Mechanical Services in Cambridge and trained by Cambridge Regional College.

SkillPIPE is part of SkillM&E -four skills competitions organised by SummitSkills which seeks out the best mechanical and electrical engineers in the building services sector. As well as SkillPIPE, SkillM&E includes SkillPLUMB for the plumbing industry, SkillELECTRIC for the electrical industry and SkillFRIDGE for the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

Bosses from the heating and ventilating industries are being invited to watch the SkillPIPE 2009 finals and find out how getting involved can benefit their firms. For more details about taking part in 2010's SkillPIPE competition, call SummitSkills on 01908 303960.