The regional heats for the 2017 SkillFRIDGE Competition Series have concluded at North Kent College, with five apprentices studying up to Level 3 in the RACHP sector vying to take a spot at the SkillFRIDGE final.

Five competitors – Ryan Fuller, Daniel Archer, Joseph Springett, Lewis Tanner and Alexander Sternberg – put their knowledge and training into practice as they were challenged to complete two tasks over the course of the day.

After a period of familiarisation, the competitors were subject to a strict timeframe in which to successfully carry out the refrigerant recovery task and fabrication brazing task under the watchful eyes of the industry judges.

Overseeing the final regional heat was SkillFRIDGE national manager, Mark Forsyth, alongside Graeme Fox, senior mechanical engineer at BESA, Kelvin Kelly, training director at Business Edge and Derek Davies, owner of Flame Brazing Services.

Once the allocated time was up, the competitors put down their tools and the judges set to reviewing the day’s work. The winner from North Kent College was revealed to be Daniel Archer.

Speaking of the competition, Mr Archer said: “I decided to enter SkillFRIDGE because I thought it would look great on my CV. I was more comfortable carrying out the refrigeration task, but the competition is good because it challenges you to do things that you might not be as confident about.”

The six highest scoring competitors are set to be announced shortly, and will be invited to participate in a series of training exercises ahead of the SkillFRIDGE national final. Taking place as part of The Skills Show at the NEC Birmingham from 16-18 November 2017, the top six will be competing not only to take home the prestigious SkillFRIDGE title but also to be in with a chance to represent the UK as they compete at international level.