The North of England heats of SkillELECTRIC and SkillPLUMB 2009, along with the first ever SkillPIPE semi-finals is taking place on June 3-4.
The search is on for the best electricians and plumbers in the North and the best heating and ventilating engineers in the UK.

The three competitions will take place at Leeds College of Building and are organised by SummitSkills, the sector skills council for building services engineering.

Nominated by their bosses and training centres, a maximum of 12 candidates have been selected to compete in the North of England heats for SkillELECTRIC and SkillPLUMB. Sixteen candidates from across the UK will be taking part in the SkillPIPE semi-finals.

Neil Collishaw, Head of Skills competitions and awards at SummitSkills, said: 'The addition of SkillPIPE to this year’s competitions is good news for the heating and ventilating industry, we are extremely hopeful that this will be the first step towards the competition becoming a demonstration competition for WorldSkills.”

The two-day contest will test competitors on practical skills including electrical wiring, pipe fitting and pipe welding, as well as theoretical knowledge.

The competitors with the most points in the SkillPIPE semi-finals will compete in the UK final at Leeds College of Building this autumn.

The highest scoring contestants in the electrical and plumbing competitions will be invited to the UK finals this October.

Winning contestants may also be selected for the WorldSkills competition in 2011.

SummitSkills is urging employers from the heating and ventilating, electrical and plumbing industries to watch the action live and find out how getting involved can benefit their business.

For more detials about the competitions or how to participate in next year’s contests visit www.skillmande.org.uk