An aircraft maintenance engineer, a lab technician and the coolest refrigeration expert on the planet, are among 21 UK medallists that have shown the World the strength in depth of our nation’s skills.
Team UK, the nation’s brightest young apprentices and professionals, were showered with medals as they triumphed in the city of Shanghai picking up two golds, one silver and three bronze medals at the ‘skills Olympics’.
A further 13 Medals for Excellence, denoting achieving worldclass standards, were awarded to the UK meaning medal recognition for 19 of the 25 skills Team UK competed in.
This is the strongest Team UK performance since 2017, when the event was held in Abu Dhabi, with Team UK 7th (of 69) in terms of average points scored.
The
WorldSkills Finals, the World’s biggest and most prestigious skills competition drew to a close last night (Sunday September 27th), with a spectacular closing ceremony before a packed Mercedes Benz Arena.
Gold medals went to:
Chemical Laboratory Technology, Ruth Douglas, aged 21, from Banbridge, Northern Ireland, who works at Almac and attends Southern Regional College.
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Samuel Jones, aged 21, from Ashton, near Wigan, who works for Industrial Cooling Equipment Ltd and attends PRTC, Burnley.
A Silver Medal went to:
Aircraft Maintenance, Elyot Harmston, (who has a BTEC), aged (23) from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, who works for the Shuttleworth Collection maintaining historic aircraft.
Bronze Medals went to:
Car Painting, Oisin McKerr, aged 21, from Lurgan, Northern Ireland, who works for Porters Body Shop and attends Southern Regional College.
Beauty Therapy, Neve Dunn, aged 20, from South Shields who works for Crown Hair and Beauty and attends Tyne Coast College.
Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing), Oliver Coombs (who has a BTEC), aged 20, from Bath, who works for BIMTek and attends Bath College.
Medals for Excellence (which denotes achieving worldclass standards) went to:
Mechatronics: Liz Hopkinson and Emily Bettridge.
CNC Milling: Tomas Ankers
Plumbing & Heating, Andrew McCann
Autobody Repair: Joe Wilton
Web Technologies Finn Gallagher
Electrical Installation: Jonathan Gough
Bricklaying: Joseph Shingler
Painting & Decorating: Shelby Fitzakerly
Hairdressing: Katie Sime
IT Network Systems Administration: Charlie Priestley
Industry 4.0: Caolan McCartan
3D Digital Game Art: Logan Cook
Renewable Energy: Madeleine Warburton
Ben Blackledge, CEO of WorldSkills UK said: “This is a terrific set of results which everyone in the UK should be proud of.
“Each and every one of the team has put in a phenomenal effort – not just this week, but the three years that they have been in the process, competing, learning and evolving their skills throughout the process.
“Being part of this amazing international skills movement gives us the knowledge and expertise to help thousands of young learners across the UK prepare for the world of work.
“WorldSkills UK is liaising with the Government and the Milburn Commission about ensuring that more young people can benefit from involvement in WorldSkills UK’s competitions, locally, regionally and nationally to help tackle the rising number of NEETs.”
Pic: UK Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Gold Winner Samuel Jones