Projects

The UK now has another national team to be proud of.  The UK has triumphed at the largest global skills competition there is, WorldSkills London 2011, which took place at ExCeL London in October 2011, winning an impressive five gold, two silver and six bronze medals in skills ranging from cooking, bricklaying and plumbing and visual merchandising, welding and car painting.  This places the UK 5th in the world.  What makes this even more remarkable is that Team UK was made up of young people, all under the age of 25, who have gone against the norm, deciding that it is a skilled career they want and have been training hard in their chosen skills for the last eighteen months in order to achieve these results for the country. 

Team UK competed against 1000 competitors from 52 countries/regions and were watched by over 200,000 visitors over the four days of tough competition they had to complete. The results, which are the highest ever achieved by the UK, were announced during an emotional closing ceremony at The O2 Arena, where, just like the Olympics, gold, silver and bronze medal winners of each skill mounted a podium to receive their medal accompanied by thunderous cheers and applause from the audience.

In addition to the thirteen medals, Team UK was also awarded twelve Medallions for Excellence in skills ranging from web design to restaurant service.  This honour is awarded to those competitors who reach the world class level in their skill discipline.

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.

"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."

Gold medals were awarded to:

Cooking: Ben Murphy, 20, London, works for Koffmann's
Stonemasonry: Chris Berridge, 22, Crewkerne, works for Harveystone and is a former apprentice 
Vicual Merchandising: Kirsty Hoadley, 20, Slough, student at East Berkshire College
Bricklaying: Philip Green, 22, Liburn, NI, works for D G Green & Sons and is a former apprentice
Plumbing & Heating: Shane Trevitt, 22, Wirral, works for NG Bailey and if a former apprentice

Silver Medals were awarded to: 

Autobody Repair: Ross Varnam, 21, Leicester, works for Parker Motor Services and is a former apprentice
Landscape Gardening: James Cuffey, 21, Downpatrick, NI, works for S.M. Cuffey Landscapes and Simon Abbott, 22, Doncaster, self-employed

Bronze Medals were awarded to:

Automotive Technology: John Coulbridge, 22, Southend-on-Sea, works for Glyn Hopkin Honda and is a former apprentice
Car Painting: Ben Eaton, 22, Sheffield, works for Sytner BMW Sheffield and is a former apprentice
Joinery: Adam Bushnell, 21, Oxford,  self-employed and is a former apprentice
Mechanical Engineering Design - CAD: Ryan Sheridan, 20,  East Kilbride, works for Motherwell College
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning: Stuart Millar, 20, Loughgall, NI, works for A&N Shilliday & Co Ltd and is a former apprentice
Welding: Jake Rambaldini, 21, Daventry, works for Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd and is a former apprentice

Team UK is 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.