Industrial Cooling Equipment Ltd is incredibly proud to announce that our engineer, Sam Jones, has won the Gold Medal in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

Sam represented Team UK at the WorldSkills Finals in Shanghai, competing against 26 other talented young refrigeration and air conditioning engineers from around the world.

After four days of intense competition, Sam was announced as the overall winner, taking home the Gold Medal and becoming a WorldSkills Champion.

It is an incredible achievement for Sam and a hugely proud moment for everyone at ICE.

From Apprentice to the World Stage

Sam’s journey makes the achievement even more special for us.

Having developed his career through the apprenticeship route with Industrial Cooling Equipment and PRTC Burnley, Sam has progressed from a young apprentice learning the trade to representing his country at the highest level of international skills competition.

His WorldSkills journey began while studying at PRTC Burnley as part of his apprenticeship. What started as an opportunity to challenge himself developed into progression through the WorldSkills UK competitions, selection for Squad UK and ultimately a place representing Team UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

Throughout that journey, Sam has balanced an intensive training programme with his day-to-day work at ICE.

Anyone who has worked alongside Sam will know the attitude he brings to his job. His commitment, attention to detail and willingness to keep learning have been evident throughout his development as an engineer, and he has brought exactly the same approach to WorldSkills.

Gold Against the Best in the World

WorldSkills brings together some of the most talented young professionals from across the globe and is often described as the “Skills Olympics”.

The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning competition in Shanghai was one of the most heavily contested categories, with 27 competitors representing countries and regions from around the world.

To qualify for the competition was already an outstanding achievement.

To represent Team UK was another.

To finish the competition with the Gold Medal is something truly special.

A Proud Moment for ICE

Sam’s achievement is first and foremost the result of his own hard work, ability and commitment, together with the support and training he has received throughout his WorldSkills journey.

However, it is also an incredibly proud moment for ICE and something that reinforces our belief in developing young engineers through apprenticeships.

We have always believed that bringing young people into the industry, giving them the right training and allowing them to develop alongside experienced engineers is vital to the future of our business and our industry.

Seeing one of our own apprentices progress through that route and ultimately stand on the world stage as a Gold Medal winner is something everyone at ICE can be proud of.

Inspiring the Next Generation

Sam’s success demonstrates where an engineering apprenticeship can lead.

The refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry offers young people the opportunity to develop highly technical skills, work across a huge variety of sectors and build a long-term engineering career.

For the next generation of ICE apprentices beginning their careers with us, they now have a WorldSkills Gold Medal winner working alongside them.

We can’t think of a better example of what can be achieved.

Congratulations Sam, from everyone at Industrial Cooling Equipment Ltd.