Training Managers

Skill: Digital Construction

Employment: Glasgow Caledonian University

Successes: Training manager and Competition Organising Partner WorldSkills UK National Finals.

WorldSkills Chief Expert: 2022 – 2024, EuroSkills Chief Expert 2023

Competitor results: Bordeaux 2022, Medallion for Excellence – Gdansk 2023, Gold Medal.

As a lecturer to learners in Higher Education, I really appreciate being able to take both mine and their knowledge and skills to such a high level.  I love to see my students and my competitors progressing to industry and not only settling in, but excelling.  Very quickly they realise just how talented they really are.

My philosophy is based on experiential learning: we learn by doing. I have found this for the most part to be true, I see better performance and psychological results in my students and competitors when I include practical learning with a competitive element in my lessons.

Skill: Cabinet Making

Employment: WorldSkills UK

Successes: Queens Anniversary Award. WorldSkills UK Chief Expert. WorldSkills UK Bronze Medal 2017. Lead judge Skillbuild. T level panel member. Consultant with NCFE of new T-level for creative crafts, revision of standards level furniture.

My role is about being able to helpWorldSkills UK squad members develop to their full potential, shaping national and international competition and influencing the curriculum in the UK.

My philosophy is about raising individual competitors’ expectation of themselves and what they can achieve. Supporting them to realise their goals.

Skill: Car Painting

Employment: Coleg Gwent

Successes: WorldSkills Silver medals for my competitors at Abu Dhabi and Kazan.

I honestly feel privileged to work with such talented apprentices. Taking them from the national competition and preparing them for the international is such a great job. Refining and perfecting their skills and techniques to get them to international standard is challenging but so worthwhile. It’s also great to be able to benchmark internationally against other strong countries which gives you an indicator of where they are on the journey.

My philosophy is about knowing the marking criteria and understanding where marks can be won or lost. The hard part is then performing this step-by-step making few mistakes. Once they have mastered this, we move onto product knowledge as this is also paramount when it comes to phase 5 and the international competition. Throughout the process I knitpick a lot but we build trust and I empower competitors to believe they’ve ‘got this’.

Skill: Chemical Laboratory Technician

Employer: University of Manchester

This is my first year as training manager. However,  I have been involved in WorldSkills UK National Qualifiers and National Finals. I enjoy working alongside young people passionate about developing skills in their chosen field.

My philosophy is to create a learner centred environment, where young people are encouraged to develop their skills in a supportive and encouraging way. By giving young people the power to develop themselves and working in a collaboratively,  I aim to provide young people with the skills to tackle anything.

Skill: CNC Milling

Employment: Coleg Cambria

Skill: Cooking

Employment: CTO Culinary Training Officer – Ulster University

Successes: Deputy Chief Expert Euroskills – Set Up 2022 – World Skills Africa – DCE 2022 – Chief Expert Belt and Road China 2019 – MOE UK Expert Euroskills Budapest 2018, Global Skills Challenge Melbourne Australia Bronze Medal – MOE World Skills Final Kazan 2019.

Seeing the skills growth of my competitors gives me the focus to push on and develop the journey for my learners. I thrive on the adrenaline needed to maximise the opportunities for young people entering our industry. Pressure testing is a major part of my role and pushing myself and my competitors towards the WorldSkills UK Finals keeps me current and skills-specific in the ever-changing world of modern culinary arts.

My philosophy is I to understand my competitor needs and any gaps in learning and skills set early on. I then design bespoke and challenging training plans that will inclemently progress my competitors to the international standards of excellence. I am fully committed to World Skills UK and  development of our amazing young people. We train to high performance through up to date pressure testing and upskilling of our learners on the road to World Skills Finals.

Skill: Cyber Security

Employment: Arden University

Successes: Deputy Chief Expert for WorldSkills  Kazan (2019). Chief Expert for WorldSkills Shanghai (2022)

I am responsible for training young people to high levels of occupational expertise drawing on insights from global skills systems and world-class practices. Leading a training network across education and industry applying performance psych strategies, delivering high-quality technical training alongside skill exchanges and international pressure testing to equip young people with transferable skills for life and work. I develop highly agile, resilient and skilled young professionals who compete for a place to represent the UK on a global stage at WorldSkills Competitions known as the ‘Skills olympics’, profiling the prestige of apprenticeships and technical education.

My philosophy is to develop highly-effective accelerator training programmes to secure world-beating performances in skills competitions and transfer insights and learning gained from international exposure back into technical vocational education and training systems.

Skill: Electrical Installation

Employer: Cardiff & Vale College

I see my role as further developing the skills of young people to a WorldSkills standard. Seeing their growth over the cycle is a rewarding experience; to develop and train at this level requires networking with experts around the World. The platform that WorldSkills UK offers provides everyone involved along with wider education the opportunity to develop and grow.

My philosophy is to create an environment where training and development is challenging, rewarding and enjoyable. To build trust and empathy so that communication can be open, honest and constructive.

Skill: Electronics

Employment: Gower College

Successes: WorldSkills UK Medallion of Excellence.

I really enjoy sharing and developing the passion that I have for my skill. The role has further developed my own skill set in teaching, learning and coaching. Linking with fellow experts across the world has exposed me to the international standards that we can all learn so much from. Watching students grow into competitors and developing mastery their skill is what it’s all about.

Being fortunate enough to be part of the WorldSkills UK Centre Of Excellence I am witnessing first-hand how the the WorldSkills UK seven steps to excellence is having a huge impact on students, competitors are raising their skill levels. My approach uses this model allied with training and coaching the whole competitor. Mindset is so important to ensure that the student, competitor is well equipped to move from a competence  to excellence mindset.

Skill: Hairdressing

Employment: Red Hair Training

Successes: Bronze medal at WorldSkills Kazan 2019, Bronze medal EuroSkills Budapest 2018.

There is nothing I enjoy more than taking these young people who are passionate about our skill/industry and watch them grow and develop into brilliant hairdressers with a bright future ahead of them.

First and foremost, Trust and honesty. But praise and encourage is needed throughout the cycle to keep enthusiasm and motivation high.

Skill: Joinery

Employer: Chichester College Group

Successes: EuroSkills Deputy Chief Expert (2018/2021. WorldSkills Chief Expert 2019/2022.

I am a Training Manager for the reward of seeing young competitors compete at the ultimate level in their chosen skill. We are not all Olympians, but at this level and in our skill they are; it’s the closest too I will ever get to represent my country as Expert so for that I am proud. Thats why I do it, to work with the best in our industry, from across the world, one family with the same outcome; if I have a part to play in that, I am happy I have given something back to my industry.

My philosophy is around working as a team to build trust. This then allows all aspects of training to be pushed to the highest level possible of which in many cases competitors not knowing what is truly possible. I facilitate competitors’ understanding of what the International standard is, then coach them on those aspects all of which is well beyond the levels they currently work towards. Its about taking their current skills and driving them forward in a step-by-step process focusing on the core basics, raising the bar on the weaker aspects until they feel confident all their skills are at the right level. Then and only then, can we move forwards to the final exacting standards to compete on the International stage. A hands-on approach always wins for me here, all of which I do in my day job, nothing new, just the way I was taught so I continue that, its the only real way for me.

Skill: Mechatronics

Employment: Didactic Services LTD

Successes: Bronze Medal, EuroSkills 2016 & 2018

It is an immense privilege, to be able to be involved in the lives of these young people. It is brilliant to be able to watch them grow both as individuals and competitors, during the time they spend within the WorldSkills organisation. And it is a fantastic opportunity to advocate for the Mechatronic and Automation industry.

The opportunity to take students from a position of understanding, to a position of excellence in Mechatronics, is a challenging task. I believe the best way to do this, is to allow them to experiment, to learn new and emerging technologies, and to push themselves against the best in the world. By Training to be the best they can be, and working as a team, we aim to achieve success.

Skill: Painting and Decorating

Employment: Dundee and Angus College

Successes: WorldSkills Kazan Medallion of Excellence

I enjoy and value developing and working with some of the most dedicated and highly-motivated skilled young people and colleagues in the UK, Europe and the world.

My philosophy is to be conduit to assist and inspire people to achieve their full potential and do the special things that make them the best in their fields and the world. World champions are not special people, they are ordinary people doing special things.I help them do the special things.

Skill: Plumbing and Heating

Employment: Self-employed

Successes: WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Medallion of Excellence.

I enjoy working with young people who want to be the best at what they do and watch them develop both their professional skills and life skills in the process. I find it rewarding when these young people take on board and learn from what we do at our training events and the direct competition between them for a place on Team UK. It is also a great experience to meet and compete with other nations and build up relationships with them. I enjoy working with my like-minded colleagues at WorldSkills UK and meeting and making new friendships with International colleagues.

I have been involved in skills competitions for 25 years and during this time have enjoyed many successful achievements in Plumbing & Heating competitions at local, regional, national and now international levels. One of my students went on to represent Team UK in Brazil in 2015 and won a Gold medal. My approach to training and coaching is to instil into these young people the importance of taking ownership of what they do and ensure they work on any negatives and turn them into positives  and keep practising until they get it right. I am passionate about skills competitions and endeavour to pass this on to my competitors.

Skill: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Employer: Coriolis International Ltd

Successes: WorldSkills Kazan 2019 (Medallion of Excellence). WorldSkills Sao Paolo 2015 (Silver Medal). Leipzig 2013 (Medallion of Excellence). WorldSkills London 2011 (Bronze Medal). WorldSkills UK Chief Expert 2011. WorldSkills UK National competition manager since 2009.   

My role provides a unique opportunity to develop bespoke training based on procedures and legislative standards. Importantly the training can be delivered to individuals and taken back into the workplace for wider use. Working with like- minded professionals also encourages innovation in training program delivery.

My aim is to develop the ability to be self-aware, act professionally at all times and encourage behaviour that produces a level of expected quality every time. The starting point is remembering to do the basics extremely well and with consistency.

Skill: Robot Systems Integration

Employer: Northern Regional College

WorldSkills UK National Competition 2021,  won Gold, Silver, Bronze Medals with three teams.

My role about leading and training young students to achieve their maximum potential comes with many challenges as well as rewards. Exploring more areas of robotics, various systems and offline software packages developed in the new competitive industrial setting, enhancing, and sharpening your engineering skills to world standard level brings more than a career highlight. Being able to transmit and develop these abilities, skills, and knowledge to the next generation of young engineers is a lifetime achievement. Aiming to become a leading model in the robotics field, as a female engineer and lecturer will hopefully encourage the next generation to follow an amazing career into new technologies and industries.

My philosophy is to lead by example. Through my entire teaching and engineering career I have tried to develop skills and knowledge, inspire the young generation to aim high and never settle for mediocre status. Always be curious and inquisitive, absorb the information, science, and technology available and create interconnections, interdisciplinary to become a complex and complete expert in the area of robotics. I encourage my students to exceed their boundaries by setting a real system of values and a new benchmark, aiming to develop independent learners that can be autodidactic, creative and innovative in their future engineering career.   

Skill: Restaurant Service

Employment: Self-employed, SPIHC Limited

Successes: WorldSkills UK Medallion of Excellence winner.

I take a great pride to transfer my knowledge, skills and passion for the profession to young people. I have already seen the competitors who were trained for Abu Dhabi and Kazan blossoming into perfect professionals in the hospitality industry

I believe young people want to do their best in their profession. The most important element is transferring the passion for the job  and to carry out each element of the task at excellence level. My ultimate goal is to bring Gold Medal for UK which will fulfil my ambition.

Skill: Aircraft Maintenance

Employment: Royal Navy

I enjoy this role because after many years learning and developing my skillset, this enables me to remain current within the aircraft maintenance industry and, allows me to pass on years of experience to the future maintainers.

Challenging and ever changing.  Coaching anybody is a privilege, mix that with the enthusiasm of the young apprentices that are involved in WorldSkills UK. The buzz and challenge starts, every individual is different and requires a different style coaching to be the best they can achieve.

Skill: Web Technologies

Employment: University of Portsmouth

Skill: 3D Digital Game Art

Employer: Cheshire College South & West

Skill: Industry 4.0

Employer: WAGO UK & Ireland

Skill: Autobody Repair

Skill: Health and Social Care

Skill: Mechanical Engineering CAD

Employer: New College Lanarkshire

Skill: Health and Social Care

Employer: Glasgow Kelvin College

Skill: ITNSA

Employer: University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Skill: Renewable Energy

Employer: Didactic Services Ltd

Skill: Welding

Employer: Coleg Cambria