Llanelli success at Skills Olympics

TEAM UK STRIKES GOLD IN THE DESERT

You Beauty – Skilled Elite ‘Does Nation Proud’

The UK ‘struck gold’ in the desert at the WorldSkills Finals
(known as the ‘skills Olympics’) in Abu Dhabi.

Among the medallists were a beauty therapist, cabinetmaker, plumber,
stonemason, Visual Merchandiser and an auto repairer.

Kaiya Swain, aged 22, from Stone Cross, in East Sussex was voted the
World’s best young beauty therapist.

KAIYA WHO WORKS AT KIAYA ROSE BEAUTY, FROM PEVENSEY SAID: “It was
an absolute honour to represent my country. This is a dream come true,
I never expected to come out on top.”

TEAM UK has triumphed picking up no less than 20 medals, 1 gold, 3
silver, 3 bronze and 13 (NB: a team entry counts as one medal)
medallions of excellence at a spectacular closing ceremony in front of
15,000 people and the World’s media at the ad Du Arena.

Winning gold was BEAUTY THERAPIST KAIYA SWAIN, from Stone Cross in
East Sussex.

Winning silver were: Architectural Stonemason Archie Stoke-Faiers
aged 22 from Uplyme, Devon, Car Painter Daryl Head, aged 21 from
Swindon and Visual Merchandiser, Catherine Abbott, aged 21 from
Reading.

Winning Bronze were: PLUMBER DAN MARTINS, AGED 20 FROM NORTHAMPTON,
CABINET MAKER ANGUS BRUCE-GARDNER, AGED 22, FROM KENDAL, CUMBRIA AND
AUTO REPAIRER ANDREW GAULT, AGED 20 FROM COOKSTOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND.

Winning Medallions of Excellence (the International benchmark of
excellence) were: RESTAURANT SERVICES – ELIZABETH FORKUOH, 21, from
LLANELLI, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (CAD) – BETSY CROSBIE, 21, FROM EAST
KILBRIDE, BRICKLAYING – JOSH HUNTER, 22, FROM HULL, PAINTING &
DECORATING – JORDAN CHARTERS, 22, from WEST LINTON, PEEBLESSHIRE,
JOINERY – CONOR WILLMOTT, 20 FROM BURY ST EDMONDS, JEWELLERY – ALEX
WOOD, 22, from HORSMONDEN IN KENT, HAIRDRESSING – BRIDIE THORNE, 22,
FROM ROSS ON WYE, LANDSCAPE GARDENING – ADAM FERGUSSON, 21, FROM
BALLYMENA, NORTHERN IRELAND & WILL BURBERRY, 21, from Horley, Surrey,
Cooking – Ruth Hansom, 22, from Darlington, Mechatronics – Sam
Hillier, 23, from Loughborough & Tom Revell, 25, from Chester, Welding
– Josh Peek, 21, from Norwich, Aircraft Maintenance – Joseph
Massey, 23 from Prescot, Merseyside, IT Network Admin (Cyber Security)
– Shane Carpenter, 21, from Croydon.

Team UK finished 10th (out of 77) in the medals table ahead of
Germany and was the smallest team to make the global top 10.

This year’s competition was seen by many as a litmus test for the
nation’s ability to cope when the free movement of skilled labour is
withdrawn in 2019.

DR. NEIL BENTLEY, CEO OF WORLDSKILLS UK said: “Let the bells ring
out, let the flags fly – these young people have done the nation
proud.

“If we celebrate Team UK’s success and use it to inspire others
to follow in their footsteps – the future of the UK is in safe hands.
“

MINISTER FOR APPRENTICESHIPS & SKILLS, ANNE MILTON MP, who visited
the competition to support WorldSkills UK and the team, called upon
parents to take note of the results saying:

”I have been blown away by Team UK. They have done fantastically
well – this is the UK competing on the World stage for skills and
achieving great things

“There will be huge celebrations when they come home. To get to
this level is brilliant.

“There is a message here for parents – university is not the only
option – the opportunities are boundless if they overcome any bias
that they might have. We must ensure that the young apprentices here
become an inspiration to others.

“WorldSkills UK is doing a fantastic job supporting these young
people – with thousands of hours of input. We need to put all that
they are doing – the ethos of this competition, the spirit of these
apprentices- into a bottle and sprinkle it across the UK.”

Having triumphed through regional heats a national final, a Team UK
selection process and months of intensive training, 34 young
apprentices (or former apprentices) – completed 4 days of
competition at the 44th WorldSkills Finals on Sunday (October 15th).

More than 1,200 young people, from 77 nations, who are specialist in
51 different disciplines from hairdressing to aircraft maintenance
plumbing to 3D Games design, competed for gold, silver and bronze
medals.

Team UK is supported by WorldSkills UK, which has pioneered radical
methods to bring young apprentices to international standards.

Techniques and methodology from elite sports training have been honed
to help produce the very best exponents of dozens of disciplines and
trades.