Almost 100 young people were today (July 7) confirmed as UK squad members for next year’s WorldSkills competition in Brazil. Following three days of gruelling tests in their different skill areas, 98 young people landed a spot on the squad, offering them the chance to go on to compete at WorldSkills in Sao Paulo next year. The successful competitors will now undergo 11 months of training to bring them up to world class standard, before the final team for Brazil is picked. Former Westminster Kingsway College cookery apprentice Danny Hoang, aged 20, was one of those who made it on to the squad. Danny, who is now a chef at The Grove Hotel, in Watford, said: “When I heard I’d got through I just felt massive delight — this week was really, really hard, physically, mentally and technically but I’m really happy with the results. “When I was standing waiting to hear the judges’ decision I was really nervous — I had a flashback of all my mistakes through the week so I wasn’t sure I’d get through.” The best bit of the squad selection process, he added, was being able to gauge his own performance and see it improve throughout the week. “It’s been good to be around people who are just as passionate in their own skill and are same-minded as well, “ he said. “That’s probably one of the strongest supports you can have in a competition like this.” Danny made it to selection stage last year, but didn’t get through to squad. After two years’ involvement with the competition, Danny described his WorldSkills experience so far as “amazing and life-changing”. Hairdressing competitor Eleni Constantinou, 21, who is an apprentice at her father’s salon, Tino Constantinou in Cardiff, said: “It’s like a complete and utter rollercoaster — at the beginning you think if ‘I do it I do it, if I don’t, I don’t’ but then it becomes such a big thing. “Until you’re sat out there you’ll never know how much it means, you don’t realise until it gets closer — it’s the worst thing, but when you find out you’ve got in, it’s the best, so you get the best and worst in one day.” The selection announcement came as a surprise for Mirella McGee, 20 and from Kent, an architectural stonemasonry apprentice at Canterbury Cathedral. “I thought I didn’t get through — I was told only three would get through, and I heard three of the others’ names and ‘I thought oh never mind’ and then they said my name,” she said. “I thought I’d really messed up on the last day and that was it my alarm didn’t go off in the morning so I missed the briefing and just everything went wrong… so I’d just accepted that I wasn’t going through.” She added: “It means everything to get through — it’s the experience, I’ve proved to myself that I’m a bit better than I sometimes think, because I don’t often have much confidence in my work and I guess the training weeks and stuff have paid off because I wouldn’t have been able to do this when I started out — I’m really looking forward to carrying on with the training.” Skills Minister Matthew Hancock congratulated the squad members. “The World Skills Competition is an opportunity for the UK to showcase and celebrate our young apprentices on the global stage,” he said. “It goes to show, that for every skill and every vocational area, we can and should celebrate excellence. “The young people who have earned a place on Squad UK are ambassadors for our country and demonstrate how high quality apprenticeships can lead to successful careers.” In the first week of October, 14 of the 37 skills will put forward competitors for EuroSkills, and squad members will also have a chance to show off and hone their skills at The Skills Show, which takes place from November, 13 to 15. Click here to see some of the squad members in action during the selection process — see below for the full list of competitors. County Region Training Provider / College Employer Aircraft Maintenance Joe Hedley, 22 Wiltshire South West Qinetiq Apprentice Training School Qinetiq Training School MOD Boscombe Down Shayne Hadland, 23 Oxfordshire South East Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering Cosford RAF Benson Autobody Repair Ryan Jones, 19 Leicester East Midlands Auto Restore Auto Restore James Crawford, 20 Belfast Northern Ireland RiverPark Training Crawfords Accident Repair Centre Autobody Technology Jamie Betts, 20 Aberdeen Scotland Raytheon Regency Car Sales Elijah Summer, 19 Cardiff Wales Provq Halfords Autocentre Declan McGarth, 20 Co. Fermanagh Northern Ireland South West College Bundoran Motors Car Paint Rebecca Wilson, 21 Co. Down Northern Ireland RiverPark Training C M Accident Repair Centre Patrick Quinn, 21 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland RiverPark Training Quinn Specialist Vehicles James Grayson, 21 Sheffield Yorkshire & The Humber Chesterfield College S & G Coachworks Leon Ivin, 20 Mors Motonmouthshire Wales College Gwent Mager Refrigeration Christopher Ballie, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College BL Refrigeration and AC Limited Joseph Conroy, 20 Berkshire South East Eastleigh College Trane UK Ryan Unwin, 21 Manchester North West Manchester College Bruntwood Cooking Ruth Hansom, 18 London London Westminster Kingsway College The Ritz Danny Hoang, 20 London London Westminster Kingsway College The Grove Hotel Confectionery / Pastry Cook Sophie Bamford, 20 London London Westminster Kingsway College William Curley Mikaela Wright, 20 Glasgow Scotland City of Glasgow College Restaurant Service Daniel Harrison, 21 Auchterarder Scotland Buxton College Gleneagles Lucy Jones, 20 Hampshire South West Brockenhurst College Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa Olivia Whitbread, 20 Kent South East Westminster Kingsway College The Bell Hotel Beauty Therapy Rianne Chester, 21 Cheshire North West Warrington Collegiate Akira Nails and Beauty Amber Scholes, 18 Norfolk East of England Great Yarmouth College Aphrodite Beauty Studio Ashlea Gissing, 18 Suffolk East of England Great Yarmouth College Rosie’s Beautician & Day Spa Hairdressing Eleni Constantinou, 21 Caerphilly Wales Tina Constantinou Abigail Moreton, 20 Herefordshire West Midlands Reds Hair Company Reds Hair Company Lucy Knight, 19 Bristol South West City of Bristol College Samuel David Hairdressing Visual Merchandising Jasmine Field, 19 Berkshire South East Fashion Retail Academy Marks and Spencer Catherine Abbot, 18 Berkshire South East Fashion Retail Academy Ashley Goult, 19 London London Fashion Retail Academy Abigail Beekes, 19 Surrey South East Fashion Retail Academy Floristry Danielle Scanlon, 19 Surrey South East Merrist Wood College Bunches and Pots Zoe Rowlinson, 19 Oxfordshire South East Warwickshire College The Garden Louisa Cooper, 20 Staffordshire West Midlands South Staffordshire College School Farm Shop Jewellery Ben Pritchard, 20 Essex East of England The Goldsmiths’ Company Emson Haig Hugo Johnson, 18 West Sussex South East The Goldsmiths’ Company RTFJ Tylor Ansell, 20 Kent South East The Goldsmiths’ Company Cartier Health and Social Care Hayley Edwards, 17 (will be 18 at time of competition if selected) Cleveland North East Middlesbrough College Georgina Ravenscroft, 19 Merseyside North West Knowsley Community CollegeKings College London Amy Mitchell, 18 Staffordshire West Midlands Newcastle –under-Lyme College Industrial Control Ashley Eyley, 21 South Derbyshire East Midlands Burton College Toyota Luke Elsmore, 19 Caerphilly Wales Newport University Industrial Automation and Control Alex Scott, 21 Newport Wales Newport University Industrial Automation and Control Hayley Ramadhar, 18 Staffordshire West Midlands Black County Technical College Industrial Electronics Naomi Stephenson, 19 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College Mechanical Engineering CAD Andrew Beel, 20 Glasgow Scotland New College Lanarkshire Pacson Valves CNC Turning Alex Elton, 19 Warwickshire West Midlands North Warwickshire & Hinckley College Clamonta CNC Milling Michael Watson, 20 Bristol South West City of Bristol College GKN Aerospace Steven Castle, 19 Bristol South West City of Bristol College GKN Aerospace Architectural Stonemasonry John Reid, 19 Elgin Scotland Elgin Training Unit Historic Scotland Sam Turner, 18 Leeds Yorkshire & The Humber York College The Dean and Chapter of York Connor Crawford, 18 Argyll Scotland Elgin Training Unit Historic Scotland Mirella McGee, 20 Kent South East The Building Crafts College The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral Plumbing and Heating Shane Brannagan, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Self – Employed Gary Doyle, 19 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Kieran Trainor Mechatronics John Peerless, 22 Harrow London Middlesex University Calum Knott, 21 London London Middlesex University Andy Smith, 20 Chester North West Toyota Manufacturing UK Toyota Manufacturing UK Robyn Clarke, 21 Chester North West Toyota Manufacturing UK Toyota Manufacturing UK Welding Thomas Beardsley, 20 North Yorkshire Yorkshire & The Humber Chesterfield College National Grid Reece Taylor, 21 Co. Durham North East Derwentside College Dyer Engineering Kurt Rogers, 20 Doncaster Yorkshire & The Humber Newcastle – Under – Lyme College Alstom Sheet Metal Technology Jack Higgins, 19 Birmingham West Midlands Wolverhampton College Radshape Sheet Metal Ltd Harley Brian, 19 Staffordshire West Midlands KMF KMF Ryan Murphy, 19 Stoke on Trent West Midlands KMF KMF Construction Metal Works Christopher Hanson, 20 Bradford Yorkshire & The Humber City Training Bradford Richard Allan Gethin Jones, 19 Llandysul Wales Coleg Sir Gar Morris Fabrication & Welding Josh Proctor, 19 Cumbria North West Furness College BAE Systems Landscape Gardening Jonathan Gill, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland CAFRE Historic Royal Palaces Matthew Beasley, 20 Cheshire North West Beesley Landscapes Aaron Jamieson, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland CAFRE Lawn + Border Landscapes Adam Ferguson, 18 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland CAFRE Carpentry Owain Jones, 20 Gwynedd Wales coleg meirion dwyfor H B Daverport Mark Hawthorne, 21 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College Trainor Contracts Simon McCall, 20 Carmathernshire Wales Coleg Sir Gar Jones & Johnson Joinery Dominic Hicks, 20 Pembrokeshire Wales Pembrokeshire College Keating Joinery Ltd Dale Hodgins, 21 Gloucestershire South West OCVC Oakleigh Joinery Painting and Decorating Curtis Baker, 19 Doncaster Yorkshire & The Humber Doncaster College Togel Contractors Brendan Magee, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Ryan O’Gorman Painting & Decorating Connor Lambton, 18 Cumbria North West Furness College Horrocks Brick Work Louis Wilkinson, 20 East Sussex South East Sussex Downs College Owen Contractors Ryan Stevens, 19 Shropshire West Midlands Shrewsbury College Craig Chatwood Building Contractors Jason Whitehead, 21 Barnsley Yorkshire & the Humber Barnsley College Barratt Homes Connor Cutsforth, 21 Hull Yorkshire & the Humber Hull College Beal Homes Plastering & Dry Wall Lining Robert Johnson, 21 Middlesbrough North East Redcar & Cleveland College Classic Plaster Moulds Nathan Roblin, 21 Ammanford Wales Ross DJ Plastering Ian Magee, 18 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland Belfast Metropolitans College Gordon Scott Wall and Floor Tiling Martin McLaughlin, 18 Derry~Londonderry Northern Ireland North West Regional College Daryl Dailly, 20 Renfrewshire Scotland City of Glasgow College DNA Tiling Specialists Cabinet Making Edward Harringman, 20 East Sussex South East Chichester College Harringman Cabinet Making Steve Pickton, 20 West Sussex South East Chichester College Grech and Grech Sam Brister, 20 Buckinghamshire South East Electrical Installation Adrian Canning, 21 Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland North West Regional College AC Electrical Willi County Region Training Provider / College Employer Aircraft Maintenance Joe Hedley, 22 Wiltshire South West Qinetiq Apprentice Training School Qinetiq Training School MOD Boscombe Down Shayne Hadland, 23 Oxfordshire South East Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering Cosford RAF Benson Autobody Repair Ryan Jones, 19 Leicester East Midlands Auto Restore Auto Restore James Crawford, 20 Belfast Northern Ireland RiverPark Training Crawfords Accident Repair Centre Autobody Technology Jamie Betts, 20 Aberdeen Scotland Raytheon Regency Car Sales Elijah Summer, 19 Cardiff Wales Provq Halfords Autocentre Declan McGarth, 20 Co. Fermanagh Northern Ireland South West College Bundoran Motors Car Paint Rebecca Wilson, 21 Co. Down Northern Ireland RiverPark Training C M Accident Repair Centre Patrick Quinn, 21 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland RiverPark Training Quinn Specialist Vehicles James Grayson, 21 Sheffield Yorkshire & The Humber Chesterfield College S & G Coachworks Leon Ivin, 20 Mors Motonmouthshire Wales College Gwent Mager Refrigeration Christopher Ballie, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College BL Refrigeration and AC Limited Joseph Conroy, 20 Berkshire South East Eastleigh College Trane UK Ryan Unwin, 21 Manchester North West Manchester College Bruntwood Cooking Ruth Hansom, 18 London London Westminster Kingsway College The Ritz Danny Hoang, 20 London London Westminster Kingsway College The Grove Hotel Confectionery / Pastry Cook Sophie Bamford, 20 London London Westminster Kingsway College William Curley Mikaela Wright, 20 Glasgow Scotland City of Glasgow College Restaurant Service Daniel Harrison, 21 Auchterarder Scotland Buxton College Gleneagles Lucy Jones, 20 Hampshire South West Brockenhurst College Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa Olivia Whitbread, 20 Kent South East Westminster Kingsway College The Bell Hotel Beauty Therapy Rianne Chester, 21 Cheshire North West Warrington Collegiate Akira Nails and Beauty Amber Scholes, 18 Norfolk East of England Great Yarmouth College Aphrodite Beauty Studio Ashlea Gissing, 18 Suffolk East of England Great Yarmouth College Rosie’s Beautician & Day Spa Hairdressing Eleni Constantinou, 21 Caerphilly Wales Tina Constantinou Abigail Moreton, 20 Herefordshire West Midlands Reds Hair Company Reds Hair Company Lucy Knight, 19 Bristol South West City of Bristol College Samuel David Hairdressing Visual Merchandising Jasmine Field, 19 Berkshire South East Fashion Retail Academy Marks and Spencer Catherine Abbot, 18 Berkshire South East Fashion Retail Academy Ashley Goult, 19 London London Fashion Retail Academy Abigail Beekes, 19 Surrey South East Fashion Retail Academy Floristry Danielle Scanlon, 19 Surrey South East Merrist Wood College Bunches and Pots Zoe Rowlinson, 19 Oxfordshire South East Warwickshire College The Garden Louisa Cooper, 20 Staffordshire West Midlands South Staffordshire College School Farm Shop Jewellery Ben Pritchard, 20 Essex East of England The Goldsmiths’ Company Emson Haig Hugo Johnson, 18 West Sussex South East The Goldsmiths’ Company RTFJ Tylor Ansell, 20 Kent South East The Goldsmiths’ Company Cartier Health and Social Care Hayley Edwards, 17 (will be 18 at time of competition if selected) Cleveland North East Middlesbrough College Georgina Ravenscroft, 19 Merseyside North West Knowsley Community CollegeKings College London Amy Mitchell, 18 Staffordshire West Midlands Newcastle –under-Lyme College Industrial Control Ashley Eyley, 21 South Derbyshire East Midlands Burton College Toyota Luke Elsmore, 19 Caerphilly Wales Newport University Industrial Automation and Control Alex Scott, 21 Newport Wales Newport University Industrial Automation and Control Hayley Ramadhar, 18 Staffordshire West Midlands Black County Technical College Industrial Electronics Naomi Stephenson, 19 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College Mechanical Engineering CAD Andrew Beel, 20 Glasgow Scotland New College Lanarkshire Pacson Valves CNC Turning Alex Elton, 19 Warwickshire West Midlands North Warwickshire & Hinckley College Clamonta CNC Milling Michael Watson, 20 Bristol South West City of Bristol College GKN Aerospace Steven Castle, 19 Bristol South West City of Bristol College GKN Aerospace Architectural Stonemasonry John Reid, 19 Elgin Scotland Elgin Training Unit Historic Scotland Sam Turner, 18 Leeds Yorkshire & The Humber York College The Dean and Chapter of York Connor Crawford, 18 Argyll Scotland Elgin Training Unit Historic Scotland Mirella McGee, 20 Kent South East The Building Crafts College The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral Plumbing and Heating Shane Brannagan, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Self – Employed Gary Doyle, 19 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Kieran Trainor Mechatronics John Peerless, 22 Harrow London Middlesex University Calum Knott, 21 London London Middlesex University Andy Smith, 20 Chester North West Toyota Manufacturing UK Toyota Manufacturing UK Robyn Clarke, 21 Chester North West Toyota Manufacturing UK Toyota Manufacturing UK Welding Thomas Beardsley, 20 North Yorkshire Yorkshire & The Humber Chesterfield College National Grid Reece Taylor, 21 Co. Durham North East Derwentside College Dyer Engineering Kurt Rogers, 20 Doncaster Yorkshire & The Humber Newcastle – Under – Lyme College Alstom Sheet Metal Technology Jack Higgins, 19 Birmingham West Midlands Wolverhampton College Radshape Sheet Metal Ltd Harley Brian, 19 Staffordshire West Midlands KMF KMF Ryan Murphy, 19 Stoke on Trent West Midlands KMF KMF Construction Metal Works Christopher Hanson, 20 Bradford Yorkshire & The Humber City Training Bradford Richard Allan Gethin Jones, 19 Llandysul Wales Coleg Sir Gar Morris Fabrication & Welding Josh Proctor, 19 Cumbria North West Furness College BAE Systems Landscape Gardening Jonathan Gill, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland CAFRE Historic Royal Palaces Matthew Beasley, 20 Cheshire North West Beesley Landscapes Aaron Jamieson, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland CAFRE Lawn + Border Landscapes Adam Ferguson, 18 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland CAFRE Carpentry Owain Jones, 20 Gwynedd Wales coleg meirion dwyfor H B Daverport Mark Hawthorne, 21 Co. Down Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College Trainor Contracts Simon McCall, 20 Carmathernshire Wales Coleg Sir Gar Jones & Johnson Joinery Dominic Hicks, 20 Pembrokeshire Wales Pembrokeshire College Keating Joinery Ltd Dale Hodgins, 21 Gloucestershire South West OCVC Oakleigh Joinery Painting and Decorating Curtis Baker, 19 Doncaster Yorkshire & The Humber Doncaster College Togel Contractors Brendan Magee, 20 Co. Down Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Ryan O’Gorman Painting & Decorating Connor Lambton, 18 Cumbria North West Furness College Horrocks Brick Work Louis Wilkinson, 20 East Sussex South East Sussex Downs College Owen Contractors Ryan Stevens, 19 Shropshire West Midlands Shrewsbury College Craig Chatwood Building Contractors Jason Whitehead, 21 Barnsley Yorkshire & the Humber Barnsley College Barratt Homes Connor Cutsforth, 21 Hull Yorkshire & the Humber Hull College Beal Homes Plastering & Dry Wall Lining Robert Johnson, 21 Middlesbrough North East Redcar & Cleveland College Classic Plaster Moulds Nathan Roblin, 21 Ammanford Wales Ross DJ Plastering Ian Magee, 18 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland Belfast Metropolitans College Gordon Scott Wall and Floor Tiling Martin McLaughlin, 18 Derry~Londonderry Northern Ireland North West Regional College Daryl Dailly, 20 Renfrewshire Scotland City of Glasgow College DNA Tiling Specialists Cabinet Making Edward Harringman, 20 East Sussex South East Chichester College Harringman Cabinet Making Steve Pickton, 20 West Sussex South East Chichester College Grech and Grech Sam Brister, 20 Buckinghamshire South East Electrical Installation Adrian Canning, 21 Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland North West Regional College AC Electrical William Falconer, 20 Derry~Londonderry Northern Ireland North West Regional College Falconer Electrical Theo Webster, 20 Devon South West Petroc KA & TD Williams Ltd IT Network Administration Richard Miller, 19 Motherwell Scotland New College Lanarkshire Bartosz Durma, 19 Bedfordshire East of England Barnfield College Web Design Daniel Levings, 18 Hampshire South East Highbury College am Falconer, 20 Derry~Londonderry Northern Ireland North West Regional College Falconer Electrical Theo Webster, 20 Devon South West Petroc KA & TD Williams Ltd IT Network Administration Richard Miller, 19 Motherwell Scotland New College Lanarkshire Bartosz Durma, 19 Bedfordshire East of England Barnfield College Web Design Daniel Levings, 18 Hampshire South East Highbury College