WorldSkills UK has listed 86 students and apprentices as candidates for the official team that will participate in WorldSkills Shanghai next year.
Squad UK was selected from regional and national finals across 31 different skills and will now undergo 18-month intensive training programme to prepare them for selection for the ‘skills Olympics’ in 2026.
The squad announced today, full list below, will be guided through their training by a team of highly skilled trainers, industry experts, former medal winners and performance coaches to help them prepare for the pressure of competing at such a high level.
The best and brightest will be announced as official members of Team UK next spring ahead of the 48th WorldSkills finals in China.
Next year’s competition will finally be held for the first time in Shanghai, China after the 2022 event, which was supposed to be held in the country, was cancelled due to ongoing Covid restrictions.
The event will see 1,500 young people travel to Shanghai from over 80 countries to compete in technical skill disciplines from engineering, manufacturing and technology through to creative, digital and hospitality in front of a quarter of a million expected visitors.
The UK will be competing in over 30 skills at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, including 3D digital game art, robot systems integration and renewable energy.
The Squad UK members for competitions for cloud computing, logistics & freight forwarding and software testing have not yet been announced. The contenders will be selected at assessment events held in the coming months as WorldSkills UK does not have national competitions in these skills, yet.
The UK came in 11th place for total medal points at WorldSkills Lyon last year out of the 60 participating countries, and 10th for average point score.
Ben Blackledge, WorldSkills UK chief executive, said: “We are so excited to welcome this fantastic group of young technicians on to our international programme. They will be developing the skills that employers are crying out for which will fuel business growth across our economy.
“WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 will be bigger than ever before with even higher standards, giving us a vital platform to learn from the very best in the world and bring skills excellence to more young people across the UK.”
Meet the squad
Melody Cheung, who is competing in graphic design and attends Bridgend College, was still in shock when interviewed at the WorldSkills UK Bootcamp.
She said: “It’s so exciting to be in squad, it doesn’t feel real yet,” she said. “I know the experience will boost my career opportunities – it’s such a great thing to put on your CV.”
Joinery apprentice Ahmed Shakir, also Bradford College alumni, said he was put forward by his employer, Abrahams & Carlisle.
“They value the training and know it will make me stand out as a joiner,” he said.
“Next month, I’m off to Wales for a training week so we are straight into it, and I can’t wait.”
Meanwhile, mechatronics competitor Emily Bettridge, an apprentice with Toyota Manufacturing UK, told FE Week she was entered into the competition by her manager, Sam Hillier, a former Team UK member at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.
She said: “It is fantastic to be selected for Squad alongside my teammates Liz and Joe who are also apprentices at Toyota. We have been working for this, for the last year so it feels like a great achievement. Toyota has a strong track record in entering WorldSkills UK competitions and when we found out we had been selected they sent the news round the company, which was great.”
Finn Gallagher, who has a BTEC in Software Design and attends Cardiff University will compete in Web Design.
Gallagher said he never thought he would make it this far.
“There is a lot of new things to learn and I’m meeting so many great people. My university advertised the WorldSkills UK Competitions, and I put my name forward as I knew it would help me stand out when looking for jobs. The thought of travelling to China to compete is very exciting and I’m determined to give it my all.”
FE Week is the media partner for WorldSkills UK and Pearson is the sponsor for Team UK.
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