Plumbing

Overview

Plumbing is an essential trade that specialises in the installation and maintenance of systems used for hot and cold water, sanitation, rainwater, heating, gas, oil, solid fuel, LPG, solar thermal hot water, and heat pumps. Plumbers work in a diverse range of locations from occupied customers’ homes to new build housing and commercial buildings. They are relied on for the installation of appliances in bathrooms and kitchens, as well as heating installations and piping in buildings that are fitted to industry and regulated standards.

The skills you need to demonstrate

Health and safety
Time-keeping
Attention to detail
Manual dexterity
Problem-solving
Customer service skills
Co-ordination
Organisational skills
Practical Pipework skills

Useful resources

Prepare for competition success

Our library of endorsed local skills competition briefs ‘benchmarking assessments’ helps prepare learners to build technical skills, productivity, and mindset competencies for national competition success, including employability progression pathways.

Paired with the benchmarking tracker, educators can record progress, identifying strengths and target areas for improvement. Together, they offer a reliable, standards-led framework, creating a sustainable model for skills development that supports educators to empower learners to be competition ready.

Access on the Learning Lab

Entry criteria

This is an individual competition.
Competitors must be any student who is working towards a Plumbing Level two or three qualification (basic pipework skills training must have been completed prior to registration) or anyone in employment and training towards a Plumbing qualification in the UK.
Competitors must be at least 16 years of age.
There is no limit to the number of competitors permitted to enter this competition per organisation.
However, we are looking for Quality, not Quantity so please engage in pre-competition activity to determine those that are able to produce quality work.
The maximum number of competitors that could progress from the entry stage to the qualifying heats from one (local) organisation is three.

How it works

1. Register

Registrations open on Monday 2 March 2026, 9am and will close Friday 27 March 2026, midnight.

2. Entry Stage

To be confirmed.

3. National Qualifiers

To be confirmed.

4. Training and Development

To help finalists prepare ahead of the UK Final, we will provide relevant technical training and share mindset development techniques, to support them to remain focused on achieving success.

Prepare students and apprentices by engaging with our benchmarking resources to master their skills and mindset masterclasses to build confidence and resilience on the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab.

5. National Finals

The National Finals are scheduled to take place in Wales during the week commencing 16 November 2026.

6. Squad UK

Competitors who are age eligible and have achieved the benchmark score will be invited to opt into Squad UK for the WorldSkills 2028 cycle, subject to the skill progressing to the international competition cycle.