South West College apprentice to showcase skills on European Stage
South West College, Enniskillen Technology & Skills Centre Electrical apprentice Daniel Knox, employed with GP Electrical and Security has been selected to join WorldSkills UK to take part in Team UK and compete at EuroSkills Finals in the Polish city of Gdańsk.
Daniel will now join an intensive training programme with the UK team, which is set to make a triumphant return to compete at EuroSkills, Europe’s largest skills event, this Autumn, which is taking place in Poland for the first time.
Team UK – which heads to the EuroSkills Finals in the Polish city of Gdańsk from 5 – 9 September – will comprise of 20 elite apprentices and students skilled in a broad spectrum of disciplines from engineering to construction, digital to creative. Following success at last year’s international WorldSkills event, the UK will compete in Robot Systems Integration and Digital Construction for the first time at the European Competition.
Governments and industry will be watching with interest to benchmark how well Team UK performs compared to the country’s main European competitors. At the event, 600 skilled young professionals, under the age of 25, from 32 member countries including Germany, Switzerland and France will compete.
Over 100,000 spectators from across Poland and Europe are expected to attend this year’s finals, after the event faced disruption in recent years due to the pandemic.
Ben Blackledge, Interim Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK, which selects and trains Team UK to the highest international standard said:
“The EuroSkills Finals provides a valuable mechanism for benchmarking the quality of skills. Through its competition-based assessment of young people’s skills against European industry standards, we can compare UK standards against those in the rest of Europe and importantly bring that international best practice back to the UK through the programmes we run at WorldSkills UK.
“This will be a life-enhancing opportunity for Daniel Knox and I wish them the best of luck. They and the rest of Team are the embodiment not only of the characteristics that we should aspire for in a young workforce, but for the UK Government’s ambitions for Global Britain too.
South West College, Electrical apprentice Daniel Knox, from Enniskillen, said: “I am incredibly grateful for the tremendous honour of making it this far, and I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to both my employer Gary Phair, GP Electrical and Security and the College for their unwavering support throughout this journey. The exceptional guidance provided by the dedicated lecturers at the College has been invaluable, and now I cannot wait to enhance my technical skills and mindset even more as I embark on the WorldSkills UK squad training.”
To secure a place in Team UK, the apprentices and students have been through an exhaustive selection process, taking part in the prestigious WorldSkills UK National Competitions. Following the European Finals, they will continue their training with WorldSkills UK with the aim of being selected for the WorldSkills Finals which take place in Lyon, France next year.
Team UK
| Skill | Name | Organisation | Training Manager |
| Mechanical Engineering CAD | Ben Hay (Apprentice) | St. David’s College, Wales | Ryan Sheridan who works at New College Lanarkshire |
| Joinery | Harry Scolding (Apprentice) | Solihull College | Andrew Pengelly who works at Chichester College Group |
| Cabinet Making | Isaac Bingham | Obins Specialist Joiners, Northern Ireland | Christian Notley MBE who works at WorldSkills UK |
| Electrical Installations | Daniel Knox (Apprentice) | South West College, Northern Ireland | Geoff Shaw who works at Cardiff and Vale College |
| Mechatronics (Team Skill) | Ben Love (Apprentice) | Siemens | Calum Knott who works at Didactic Services Ltd |
| Mechatronics (Team Skill) | Lucy Yelland (Apprentice) | Siemens | Calum Knott who works at Didactic Services Ltd |
| Hairdressing | Charlotte Lloyd (Apprentice) | Reds Hair Company | Linzi Weare who works at Reds Hair Company |
| Plumbing and Heating | Ruben Duggan (Apprentice) | Coleg Y Cymoedd, Wales | Ronnie Ferris MBE who is self-employed. |
| Cooking | Samantha Watkins | Savoy Hotel | Sean Owens who works at Ulster University |
| Restaurant Service | Daniel Davies | Coleg Ceredigion, Wales | Shyam Patiar MBE who is self-employed. |
| Web Development | Rhydian Brown | P & A Education, Wales | Valentin Adamescu who works at University of Portsmouth |
| CNC Milling | Alex Whitemore (Apprentice) | Babcock | Adam Youens who works at Coleg Cambria |
| Digital Construction | Isabella Barron | Sheffield Hallam University | Michael McGuire who works at Glasgow Caledonian University |
| Electronics Prototyping | Michael Crilley | Gloucestershire Engineering Training (Apprentice) | Stephen Williams who works at Gower College |
| Robot Systems Integration (Team Skill) | Charlie Carson | Northern Regional College, Northern Ireland | Karla Kosch who works at Northern Regional College |
| Robot Systems Integration (Team Skill) | Jason Scott | Northern Regional College, Northern Ireland | Karla Kosch who works at Northern Regional College |
| Car Painting | Miguel Harvey (Apprentice) | Steer Automotive Group | Rich Wheeler who works at Coleg Gwent |
| Painting and Decorating | Dior Regan (Apprentice) | Lincoln College | Mike Swan who works at Dundee and Angus College |
| ICT Specialists (Team Skill) | Tyler Lewis (Apprentice) | HCUC (Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges) | Training Manager to be announced |
| ICT Specialists (Team Skill) | Nathanial Patrick | New College Lanarkshire, Scotland | Training Manager to be announced |
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