Get involved in WorldSkills London 2011! by Will Torrent, Past Competitor

In October 2011 , a year before the 2012 Olympic Games, the prestigious WorldSkills Competition comes to London! WorldSkills is the biggest skills competition in the world and challenges teachers, trainers and young skilled men and woman to compete in over 40 different skills from over 50 different countries/regions and ultimately become the best in the field.

In 2007, when I was 21, I flew to Japan to represent the United Kingdom in the Pastry / Confectionery event. Not many people, other than maybe the Under 21 National Football team, get to say that they have represented their country at 21, and for me that was the instant hook when I was first introduced to WorldSkills by Yolande Stanley MCA. Yolande was my tutor at university and later became my Training Manager for WorldSkills. The training I received was the absolute best; I was lucky enough to go to France and train in some of the top places here in the UK such as Claridges, The Lanesborough and Gleneagles. The physical and mental training myself and the members of the Team got was also invaluable. We were treated like athletes, with physical exercise plans and diets to keep us at tip top condition to compete against the rest of the world. This training resulted in me becoming the highest placed British pastry chef at any WorldSkills competition so far and winning the first coveted Medallion of Excellence, beating France, Germany and Switzerland.

The whole of the UK needs to get behind London in 2012, but first we need your support in 2011 to make sure WorldSkills London 2011 is the best and biggest WorldSkills competition ever! You can support in many different ways and more information can be found worldskillslondon2011.com

Go out and spread the word! Tell people about WorldSkills and get people excited as much as I am about this brilliant competition coming to the capital a year before the Olympic Games in 2012!!

James Martin: Be part of WorldSkills London 2011

In this post, James Martin, Celebrity Chef, discusses why he supports skill competitions like WorldSkills London 2011.

“After being practically brought up in the kitchens at Castle Howard, I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a chef and pursue a vocational path. I spent three very happy years at Scarborough Technical College, learning my trade, from chopping to sauces. I had the good fortune to be spotted by Antony Worrall Thompson at this time, which helped me work in top London restaurants and also tour France, developing my skills in the kitchens of the Chateaux. When I returned, I was in a position to be able to open a restaurant in Winchester as Head Chef. I was 21 and I have never looked back.

As vocational skills and education have been such a force behind my success, I do my best to support them now. I have had the honour to be involved with WorldSkills for several years now, indeed one of the WorldSkills 2007 Competitors, Will Torrent, helped me out as my assistant on my 2007 programme ‘Sweet Baby James’. Will’s career since then has gone from strength to strength; he recently won Young Chef of the Year 2009 from the Craft Guild of Chef’s. I was impressed with him as a person, but also the skill, confidence and support he had drawn from being involved with both WorldSkills UK and the international WorldSkills Competition. Skills competitions are one of the best things you could be involved in as a young tradesperson and they have real ability to change lives. For those reasons, I would encourage anyone to find out more about WorldSkills London 2011 and become involved in skills competitions.”