Team UK for WorldSkills Shanghai revealed

A team of 26 talented young professionals have been selected to represent the UK at WorldSkills Shanghai this year.

The group of apprentices and students will travel to China this September to compete in the “skills Olympics”, in 24 disciplines including bricklaying, car painting and beauty therapy.

Team UK will go head-to-head against thousands of the best and brightest counterparts from over 80 countries to win gold, silver, and bronze medals.

This will be the 48th WorldSkills competition, with 1,500 young people expected to travel to Shanghai to compete in technical skill disciplines from engineering, manufacturing and technology through to creative, digital and hospitality in front of an estimated quarter of a million visitors.

Shanghai was supposed to host the competition in 2022 but was cancelled due to Covid restrictions in the country.

Ben Blackledge, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said WorldSkills Shanghai will bring together the world’s best young talent to compete against the highest international standards, giving the UK a “powerful global platform to showcase its skills excellence”.

He added: “At a time when employers are sceptical about employing young people, Team UK show just how important it is to have young professionals in the workforce. These young technicians have an incredibly valuable mix of world-class technical skills, impressive employability skills and a mindset to succeed.

“If we are serious about tackling the NEET challenge, we need to get more young people ready for work, and skills competitions are a proven way to improve engagement in training and work readiness.”

WorldSkills UK has selected 26 champions from a cohort of 86 young people aged 16 to 22 across the UK, who won regional and national skills competitions and have been undergoing an intensive training programme over the last two years.

Several competitors participated in their first international event last year at EuroSkills Herning in Denmark, taking home six medals including one bronze.

The team will enter 24 skills competitions currently. WorldSkills UK is in the “final stages” of entering in the digital construction and robot systems integration competitions.

EuroSkills bronze medallist Patrick Sheerin, who won in Industry 4.0, said making Team UK with his teammate Caolan McCartan is an “incredible relief”.

“Fourteen months ago, Caolan and I found out we’d made Squad UK with the chance to compete in China. It’s been a long journey with the highs of EuroSkills and some lows, and now it’s time to give it our everything,” Sheerin added.

“My family have backed me every step of the way, and they’ll be over the moon. My mum is hoping to come to Shanghai to watch, which will mean a lot at the competition.”

CNC Milling competitor Tomas Ankers told FE Week the news “hasn’t fully sunk in yet”.

Ankers, who attended Coleg Cambria and works at Electroimpact, said: “WorldSkills UK competitions have been such an important part of my journey; it helped me secure my apprenticeship with them by giving me the experience and confidence to stand out in my interview and it’s an amazing feeling to now be continuing that journey all the way to China.”

Tyne Coast College student Neve Dunn, who will compete in beauty therapy, said: “When I found out I’d been selected to train with WorldSkills UK, I made a big decision to change jobs so I could give it my all. A year on, my employer Crown Hair & Beauty, has been amazing, they’ve supported me every step of the way, giving me time to train and develop in the salon. I honestly can’t thank them enough, along with my lecturers at Tyne Coast College, for all their support.”