Home > News > November 2007 > 26 November 2007

UK team strikes gold in Japan

The UK WorldSkills team has won a four medals and nine medallions of excellence at the WorldSkills 2007 event held in Japan.

WorldSkills is an international skills competition held every two years, where young people from 48 member countries meet and compete in 40 different vocational skills, including beauty therapy, web design, cabinet making, floristry and engineering.

Gary Tuddenham won a gold medal in the cabinet making event, while Harry Smith achieved a silver medal in the graphic design event. Bronze medals were won by Simon Noble in the autobody repair event and by Jonathan Lloyd in the car painting event.

This year's team score results placed the UK 11th in the world overall, and fourth in Europe, improving the UK's position in the team league table by one place from 2005.

John Denham, secretary of state for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said: "WorldSkills is about raising the status and the standards of vocational education. What this years' team has done epitomises that.

"Forty-nine nations competed highlighting how essential these skills are globally. For our team to have achieved such great results proves we have skills in this country at world class levels. This team is helping to break down the snobbery around skills training - there is nothing second best about good skills-based careers."

"Throughout their training and the competition the team showed magnificent pride in their work. I hope that young people seeing what has been achieved in Japan will feel inspired to take up skills they can excel at professionally.

"I want many more to rise to the challenge themselves for the next competition in Canada in 2009 and again in 2011 when London will be hosting WorldSkills - and when we can show we can be the best!"

Chris Humphries, chairman of UK Skills and newly appointed chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills said: "Skills matter to UK businesses and the UK economy, and WorldSkills provides the ultimate benchmark of a nation's young people, and the education and training we provide them.

"These 22 young UK competitors rose to the challenges presented by the WorldSkills competitions and confirmed that they are indeed true champions – up there with the best in the world. To them all, to our medal and medallion winners, and to their teachers and trainers, UK Skills offer our heartiest congratulations!"

Simon Bartley, chief executive of UK Skills, the body which coordinates the UK participation in WorldSkills, said "The team has worked so hard from the day that they were selected all the way through to the end of the competition to ensure they were the best they could be, so the results they have achieved are absolutely deserved. The results are really great and we are very proud of the whole team."

The UK WorldSkills team is managed by UK Skills working in partnership with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Scottish Executive, the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland, the Welsh Assembly Government and partners from education, government and industry.

Preparation will start soon to secure a new team to take part in WorldSkills 2009 and WorldSkills 2011, when London will host the event.

External link

WorldSkills

WorldSkills London 2011

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