WorldSkills UK Wales

Dean and Cliff – Well Done Guys!

Safely back on Welsh soil, it wasn’t long before we asked Dean Jones and Cliff Williams to come to Cardiff so we could celebrate their achievement at WorldSkills Calgary 2009.

Recently, we held a select gathering in the city so we could meet the lads and give our formal congratulations. (They are pictured here with John Griffiths, Deputy Minister for Skills).

Dean brought home a medallion for excellence in automobile technology – awarded to competitors who achieve 500 points or more, (the threshold for world class standards). A mere 3 points separated Cliff from a medallion, but importantly his high score contributed to the overall Team UK position of 7th in world. So, Cliff too, proved that he could hold his own against his WorldSkills carpentry competitors on an international level.

We are very proud of their accomplishment as are they! We talked to them about their amazing experience and asked our guests what they thought about their success. Here's what they had to say:

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

Have You got What it Takes?

To compete at the very highest level and represent your country is a huge privilege and takes years of honing your skill.

Competitors in the UK would have progressed through a series of local, regional and national competitions that are run every year. Each competition stage gets tougher but the experience is highly valuable – you meet great people whilst you learn and improve your skills!

If you compete in a UK final and do well enough, you may be asked to attend a Squad UK selection event. Successful candidates at this stage are then invited to undertake an intensive skills based training programme (which usually lasts 16 weeks). Throughout this training, you are assigned a training manager who is a UK technical expert in their field.

Following this process, individuals are chosen for Team UK – the actual team of competitors who will represent their country at the WorldSkills International level competition. The WorldSkills Calgary 2009 Team UK was chosen from several thousand competitors across the country!

Should you make it as far as this stage you will then undergo even more skills based training to refine your skills to world-class standards.

Local skills competitions will launch across Wales and the UK in October 2009. Watch this space to find out more and be in with a chance of representing your country at the next international competition when it comes to WorldSkills London 2011.

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

Some Serious Talent Spotting

Jet lagged and back but still euphoric over Team UK’s incredible performance at WorldSkills Calgary 2009!

Over the past few days we’ve seen an amazing level of craftsmanship, creativity and awe inspiring talent.

Reviewing our footage, we’ve pulled together this montage to show you some of the world class skills on display:

 

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

It’s Official - Team UK Raises it’s Game!

The results are in and Team UK learns that it pulled 7th in the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 rankings (based on team average point score) and joint 6th in terms of medal count. 

In 2007 at the WorldSkills Shizuoka Competition in Japan, the team ranked as 11th in the World.

What an incredible achievement!

Bask in their glory by viewing the team’s celebrations at the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 Medals Ceremony below:

(Acknowledgements: UK Skills)

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

Team UK bringing it home!

katie watson_restaurant service picking up bronze
Originally uploaded by WorldSkills UK - Wales

Katie Watson from Hamilton, who works at the Gleneagles Hotel winning a well earned bronze medal in the restaurant service competition.

Katie was one of nine Team UK competitors who won a medal at the competition, making them the most successful UK Team ever! 

Team UK wins 3 gold medals, 6 bronze medals and 14 medallions of excellence which are awarded for reaching a World Class benchmark at WorldSkills Calgary 2009.

A huge well done to all of Team UK for stepping up to the challlenge and for doing us proud.

More pictures will be uploaded shortly.

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales