Team UK achieves record success at WorldSkills London 2011

Team UK won five gold, two silver and six bronze medals in skills ranging from cooking, bricklaying and plumbing and visual merchandising, welding and car painting at the global WorldSkills London 2011 held at ExCel London.

The results, which are the highest ever achieved by the UK, placed the country at 5th in the world rankings.

Commenting on the outstanding performance of Team UK, Skills Minister John Hayes said: “These inspirational results are a tribute to the skill, imagination and purposeful pride of our young people.

“Team UK has shown that UK workers and businesses can take on the world and win – but I want many thousands more people in the UK to achieve excellence.”

Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency, said: “WorldSkills London 2011 has been an overwhelming success, the biggest and best skills event the world has seen. It was also the best ever result for Team UK, with five gold, two silver and six bronze medals. My congratulations go to all the competitors and to everyone involved in organising this incredible event. It is a superb achievement and the beginning of a new, inspired future for skills excellence in the UK.

“The legacy of WorldSkills London 2011 will be an annual cycle of skills competitions driving up the standards and status of vocational skills across the country. The cycle will culminate in a high profile event bringing together all of the national finals to showcase all that is best in Further Education, the tremendous achievements of learners and the impact of skills and learning on individuals, businesses and the economy.”

In addition to the thirteen medals, Team UK was also awarded twelve Medallions for Excellence in skills ranging from web design to restaurant service.

Competing against 1000 competitors from 52 countries/regions and watched by over 200,000 visitors over the four days, Team UK was made up of young people, all under the age of 25, who went against the norm, deciding that it is a skilled career they want and had been training hard in their chosen skills for the last eighteen months in order to achieve these results for the country.

Hayes added: “The Government’s unprecedented commitment to practical learning, with the biggest apprenticeship programme ever, is putting skills back at the centre of national life, helping people build strong and successful careers, firms and communities.”

The Team UK was managed by the National Apprenticeship Service and was supported in its medal success by Edge, the independent education foundation, the Premier Supporter of Squad and Team UK and Brathay Trust, the Premier Training and Development Partner of Squad and Team UK.

Aastha Gill