Team UK has scooped two silver and two bronze medals at this year’s WorldSkills competition in Lyon, France.
After four days of gruelling competition, Team UK were awarded four podium position medals at an electric ceremony this evening.
The UK also bagged 14 medallions of excellence across 12 skills.
Earlier this evening, family, friends, experts and officials descended on the OL Arena on the outskirts of Lyon to watch the 1,500 young people discover who came out on top as the world’s best in 62 skills competitions.
Solihull College alumni Harry Scolding won silver in joinery. He was tasked with building a working door over the course of four days.
He said: “I still haven’t come round to the fact that this has just happened.”
Scolding currently runs his own business HDS Joinery and said his customers had been “very supportive” with his training schedule in the last 6 weeks.
Scolding’s parents Katie and Lee, who own and run a hairdressing business, told FE Week earlier in the week that it is an “honour” being the parents of a WorldSkills UK champion.
“I’m not surprised that my son has got himself there, because he’s got a lot of determination and drive, and we’re just hoping he’s going to do really well in his competition,” Lee Scolding said.
Ruben Duggan also won silver in the plumbing and heating. Duggan achieved the same feat in last year’s EuroSkills in Gdansk, Poland.
“When I came out of the bay, I was feeling a bit deflated. I didn’t think I’d put the best I’ve ever put into it, but I can’t think about it now. It’s absolutely brilliant.”
Duggan works for Powerserv LTD and trains at Coleg Y Cymoedd, Wales.
In the refrigeration and air conditioning skill, bronze was awarded Eastleigh College’s Luke Haile.
Haile, who works for Lightfoot Defence in Fareham, Hampshire, told FE Week that he has got “so much more” out of competing in and training for two and a half years for WorldSkills.
“I’d like to keep going onwards and upwards. It’s what WorldSkills has taught me is to keep pushing and see how far you go.”
David McKeown also won bronze for his skill in autobody repair. McKeown works at his family business James McKeown Accident Repair and trains at Riverpark Training in Northern Ireland.
McKeown told FE Week that his win felt “very surreal”.
“I went in with a really good head at the start of the competition,” he said. “The first two days were really good, the third day was hard.
“I realised how tight my competition was. China and Japan really made my job hard but fair play to them.”
The closing ceremony also presented the ‘Best in Nation’ award to Ruby Pile, Team UK’s restaurant service competitor.
Pile works at Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa and attended Cardiff and Vale College.
Medallions for excellence in 12 skills were also awarded for achieving the international standard benchmark.
Ben Blackledge, WorldSkills UK chief executive, said: “This is a fantastic result for the team and the UK as a whole. High quality skills development is crucial to growing the economy, and Team UK’s medal-winning performance in front of a global audience sends a strong message that the UK is a world-class place to invest, develop talent and create jobs.”
See the full table of winners here:
WorldSkills 2024 UK results
| Medal | Skill | Name | Training provider |
| Silver | Joinery | Harry Scolding | Solihull College and University Centre |
| Silver | Plumbing and heating | Ruben Duggan | Coleg Y Cymoedd |
| Bronze | Refrigeration and air conditioning | Luke Haile | Eastleigh College |
| Bronze | Autobody repair | David McKeown | Riverpark Training |
| Medallion for Excellence | Mechatronics | Lucy Yelland and Ben Love | Tameside College |
| Medallion for Excellence | Mechanical engineering CAD | Nathan Young | New College Lanarkshire |
| Medallion for Excellence | Web technologies | Mark Kiss | United Colleges Group |
| Medallion for Excellence | Electrical installation | Daniel Knox | South West College |
| Medallion for Excellence | Painting and decorating | Dior Regan | Lincoln College |
| Medallion for Excellence | Cabinet making | Isaac Bingham | Southern Regional College |
| Medallion for Excellence | Hairdressing | Charlotte Lloyd | Reds Hair Company |
| Medallion for Excellence | Cooking | Oska Ready | DN Colleges Group |
| Medallion for Excellence | Car painting | Miguel Harvey | Steer Automotive Group |
| Medallion for Excellence | IT network systems administration | Finley Graham | City of Glasgow College / Glasgow Caledonian University |
| Medallion for Excellence | Digital construction | Isabelle Barron | Sheffield Hallam University |
| Medallion for Excellence | Robot systems integration | Jason Scott & Charlie Carson | Northern Regional College & Northern Regional College / University of Ulster |
| Best in country | Restaurant service | Ruby Pile | Cardiff and Vale College |
