We’ve selected the UK’s best young apprentices and professionals to take on the crème de la crème of their European peers at EuroSkills Graz 2020, taking place from 6-10 January 2021.
Team UK are:
• Architectural Stonemasonry: Jordan Cliffe, Building Crafts College
• Chemical Laboratory Technician (demo): Lewis Dymock, New College Lanarkshire
• CNC Milling: Abigail Stansfield, BAE Systems
• Cooking : Sam Everton, The Grove
• Electronics prototyping: Rhys Watts, Gower College Swansea
• Floristry: Hannah Beckley, Warwickshire College Group
• Hairdressing: Phoebe McLavy, Reds Hair Salon
• Industry 4.0 (demo): Kamil Zmich, Toyota Manufacturing Ltd
• Industry 4.0 (demo): Bradley Ellison, UTC – Sheffield
• Joinery: Ross Fiori, Carlisle College
• Mechanical Engineering: CAD: Lewis Batchelor, New College Lanarkshire
• Mechatronics: Will Gale, Toyota Manufacturing Ltd
• Mechatronics: Josh Sibley, Toyota Manufacturing Ltd
• Visual Merchandising: Greta Volungeviciute, City of Glasgow College
The competitors have already been through an exhaustive year long process of regional competition, national finals and team selection to get to this point. Now they face months of intensive training to raise their standards to elite international level, under the guidance of our Training Managers.
The competition in Graz, which was postponed due to the Covid crisis, is seen as an important indicator as to how the UK’s skills systems measure up against key economic competitors across Europe.
Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP said:
“It’s fantastic to see such a talented group of young people selected to represent Team UK. You should all be very proud to have been picked as ambassadors for our country and to showcase the world class technical and vocational education and training on offer across the UK.
“We are committed to making sure all young people have the skills they need to succeed and so businesses have access to the talented workforce they need to thrive. As we build back better, our pioneering new T Levels, high-quality apprenticeships and further education sector will play a key role in unleashing this country’s potential and the opportunities ahead. I look forward to championing the talent and skills of our young people for many years to come.”
Team UK will compete in a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from construction to creative.
Our Chief Executive, Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE said:
“Forget the Euros next season, this is going to be epic, and far more fundamental to the future of our country – demonstrating the next generation is developing the skills we need to help build back better our economy and remain internationally competitive.
“There has been so much conjecture as to how the United Kingdom will fare in terms of skills performance. The competition with 27 of our near neighbours across the continent will be a brilliant benchmark and show what Team UK is made of.”
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 previous EuroSkills finals, held in 2018 in Budapest – Team UK finished ninth.
We will use our participation in the EuroSkills Finals to direct the work of our Centre of Excellence, in partnership with NCFE, which utilises our unique insights into European and global skills systems to mainstream excellence in skills development.
