Success at WorldSkills: A guest post from Northern Ireland

A guest post from Northern Ireland, one of the Devolved Nations bringing WorldSkills London 2011 to the UK:

Trevor Woods, a joinery apprentice from County Fermanagh, won a coveted bronze medal at the WorldSkills 2009 Competition in Calgary.

Trevor, a City & Guilds qualified apprentice at South West Regional College, Omagh, and employed by McAleer and Teague, Dromore, beat some of the best young skilled people in the world to win the medal at the biggest skills based competition in the world. He competed as part of the 26 strong UK WorldSkills team, which won nine medals in total.

Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, who supported Trevor during the competition said "I would like to congratulate Trevor on this magnificent achievement. The standard of skills that I witnessed in Calgary was extremely high, and Trevor should feel very proud that his commitment and hard work have paid off to make him the best in the world. Northern Ireland has once again shown that we have a talented workforce with the high level of skills that are required to compete in the global economy."

Bill McGinnis, attending the event in his role as Northern Ireland Advisor on Employment and Skills said "Trevor's outstanding success in Calgary, against worldwide competition is a shining example to others in Northern Ireland of what can be achieved through individual commitment and skills development. This excellent achievement will also have obvious benefits for Trevor's employers, McAleer and Teague, who should be commended for their support. I would encourage individuals and employers, across all sectors in Northern Ireland, to recognise the benefits that can be gained from upskilling and participating on the global stage."

David Cooper, Chairman of Skillbuild NI said: "We are absolutely delighted for Trevor, he has worked extremely hard over the last twelve months to perfect his skills and has now been acknowledged by winning a WorldSkills Bronze medal - a tremendous achievement. We are thrilled that having demonstrate his skills on the local stage at the Skillbuild Northern Ireland Competition, Trevor has been able to achieve such success on a world stage. This award reflects the exceptionally high standards of technical and professional education in Northern Ireland."

We would love to hear about other WorldSkills success stories from all around the world. If you have experiences to share with us, why not visit our Facebook page to join the discussion?

The Partnership Team

Greetings from the Partnership team at WorldSkills London 2011 - we are a small but perfectly formed team of two, Sereen El-Jamal and myself, Michael Osbaldeston; although to be fair, we probably make enough noise for twice that many! Sereen has worked in the vocational skills sector for nearly 10 years and I was part of the bid team that brought WorldSkills to London. Within the WorldSkills London 2011 team, we have special responsibility for our partners and stakeholders - those are the important organisations and influential individuals who will help us deliver not just an outstanding event in 2011, but help bring about the legacy.

'What's the legacy?' I hear you say - well, WorldSkills London 2011 is going to be more than an amazing event. Through it we are aiming to change people's attitudes to voacational skills, raise awareness of the contribution made by Further Education to the success of individuals, businesses and the national economy and encourage more people to participate in skills competitions.

That's a lot to achieve, which is why we need the help of a wide range of organisations. So we are working with people ranging from the British Council, Business in the Community and Sector Skills Councils to London Underground, LOCOG and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, because WorldSkills London 2011 is not just for London, it's for the whole of the UK.

There's a lot to do, but we have a great team working on WorldSkills London 2011 and, of course, we have you! Yes, you! You can help us spread the word about vocational skills and WorldSkills London 2011 - after all, you are one of our most important partners!

WorldSkills London 2011 supports National Apprenticeships Week

Aidan Jones, Executive Director, WorldSkills London 2011 was interviewed by ePolitix.com this week about National Apprenticeships Week 2010. Below is a summary of that interview:


Is it important to promote apprenticeship schemes through an Annual week? What messages does WorldSkills London 2011 hope that the National Apprenticeships Week will convey?

Apprenticeship Week (1st - 5th Feb 2010) provides a fresh opportunity to focus on the strengths and the potential of a learning model which is still largely overlooked despite a massive rise in the number of apprentices in the past five years.

WorldSkills London 2011 supports the work of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and in particular, we were pleased to see one of the themes of this year's Apprenticeship Week is 'Apprenticeships driving business'. We understand the crucial role that apprentices can play as a means of developing exceptional performance both for individual and organisational success. Indeed, the significance of this will only grow for us as we move towards 2011, when the UK will host WorldSkills, the largest international skills based competition there is; one that will see 1,200 young, talented people from around the globe compete in a wide range of skills. The event will provide a benchmark for the comparative strength of the training infrastructure on offer from businesses in the UK and internationally.

The time has come to ensure that our next generation of apprentices gain the benefit of a superb learning experience which is not just 'fit for purpose' but 'fit for life'. This week affords us a chance to begin to focus on how this can be achieved.

How will the legacy of WorldSkills London 2011 support the continuing work of the National Apprenticeship Service?

At WorldSkills Calgary 2009, over half of Team UK were apprentices and the skills and dedication of these young people contributed to a record-breaking seventh position for the UK. We were awarded three Gold and six Bronze medals in skills including painting and decorating, joinery, cooking and electrical installation.

Continuing this success, many of the young people who compete at WorldSkills London 2011 will be apprentices. We want to use the event to showcase the talent of apprentices on offer in this country, and as part of the WorldSkills London 2011 legacy, we want to inspire the next generation of apprentices to excel and achieve very high standards in their chosen skill.

What points would you like to emphasise about the importance of WorldSkills London 2011?

WorldSkills London 2011 will be a fantastic and entertaining event that will showcase to the world the achievements of talented young people, who have chosen to have a career in a traditional or modern skill. The event will inspire people of all ages to positively consider training in a vocational skill.

Of course, the event happens a year before the Olympics come to London. And we must all remember that without a talented workforce, who will help deliver the event, the Olympics would not happen.

To help make WorldSkills London 2011 a resounding success we need all of your support. For more information on how you can get involved and support WorldSkills London 2011, I encourage you to visit worldskillslondon2011.com

WorldSkills London 2011: The Event

Hi, I'm Peter Davies and I'm the Technical Director here at WorldSkills London 2011.

There is just less than two years to go before WorldSkills hits London, but our work is already well underway. There is a massive amount of planning that goes into putting on an event such as ours and we're determined to make sure that everything goes above and beyond all expectation in October 2011. We had a fantastic experience this year out in Calgary and are confident of delivering something even mroe spectacular when it's our turn!

As Technical Director, I have a broad array of responsibilities, ranging from ensuring that competitors have all of the necessary equipment and materials to designing the layout of the event itself - when you consider the hugely diverse range of skills on display, this is no mean feat! Needless to say that the things we have to take into consideration for the health and beauty competitors vary somewhat to that of the carpenters and bricklayers!

Before joining the WorldSkills London 2011 team, I worked on a number of large-scale events, such as The Good Food Show and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Concerts. WorldSkills London 2011 is another great opportunity to showcase, not only the amount of vocational talent, but also the UK's ability to put on an outstanding, world-class event. So please come and join us in October 2011 and see for yourself the incredible talents of some of the most skilled young people in the world and enjoy what promises to be a spectacular event.

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!!

Jonathan Hurford-Potter, Finance Director, WorldSkills London 2011

Jonathan Hurford-Potter, Finance Director, WorldSkills London 2011 discusses what WorldSkills London 2011 means to him and his impressions of WorldSkills Calgary 2009:

WSL2011: What is your biggest challenge as Finance Director of WSL2011?

JHP: The event in London has a budget of £40M and the Government is currently funding around 25% of the costs. The balance needs to be obtained through Sponsorship and whilst not my area of responsibility, I am the recipient and custodian of the funds secured. I need to ensure both a balanced budget (cost and revenue) and more importantly keep a tight rein on cash flow to ensure that I can pay suppliers and staff salaries on time! Well someone has to do it!

WSL2011: What excites you most about being Finance Director of WorldSkills London 2011?

JHP: To be part of in International event and ensure along with the rest of the 2011 team that we deliver a superlative event to time, budget and quality standards. We are a fairly small dynamic team and it makes a huge change from my previous role working on a payroll system for the Armed Forces.

WSL2011: Having seen WSC2009, can you describe your impressions of a WorldSkills Competition for people who have not seen one before?

JHP: I just couldn't believe the scale of it! Just try to imagine a garage with around 30 identical cars on ramps being worked on simultaneously by competitors from all over the world. Then consider the same for landscape gardening, cooking, bricklaying, dressmaking etc. The opportunity to compare and contrast the progress of competitors and see the exceptional skills and talent in people so young is awesome.

WSL2011: If you were a competitor, which skill would you compete in?

JHP: I have a vested interest here. I own a 1965 Ford Anglia – light blue as featured in Harry Potter – and it is rather rusty. To compete in car painting and bodywork repair would enable me to restore my vehicle to an “as new” condition. Not sure my wife, Sarah, would agree though. She would prefer me to compete in jewellery and to take the Anglia to the Council recycling point or obtain £2,000 through the Government “scrapage” scheme!

WSL2011: If you could sum up in five words why WorldSkills London 2011 is important, what would you say?

JHP: Inspire young people to excel (in ExCeL!)

The WorldSkills Experience by Past Competitor, Harry Smith

For me the WorldSkills experience was an unforgettable one that started back in 2005. After winning the gold award for the WorldSkills UK national competition, I was introduced to WorldSkills and told of the opportunity to represent the UK on the world stage. It struck me what a fantastic and unique opportunity this was, I decided that day that I had be a part of it!

It took a couple of years of tough training and several competitions to get my skills up to scratch for WorldSkills. Throughout my training and development, my confidence grew along with my ability and I started to believe I could win a medal.

Arriving at the competition site for first time, I realised what an epic event WorldSkills was; the competition area was massive and the crowds just as big. However, my nerves settled as I started the competition and I got on with the job at hand.

Outside of the competition time I had an opportunity to see the whole site and all the other skills in action. It was awe-inspiring! The exceptional quality of work being demonstrated was inspirational and as a competitor, I wonder what the visitors must have thought!

Once the competition was over, it was time for the Closing Ceremony and just like the Opening Ceremony, it was a fantastic event and a celebration of everyone’s achievements. Throughout the ceremony, I had no idea of how I had done, but then they announced the result; I had won the silver medal! It was unbelievable; standing on the podium with the union jack over my back receiving my medal is the greatest moment of my life!

I don’t think WorldSkills is just about the medals though, competing at the event and being part of Team UK was reward enough for me. For me, it’s a celebration of vocational skills and an inspirational event for visitors, I’m proud to continue being a part of it.