Young automotive technicians going for gold at WorldSkills in Canada
Three young automotive technicians are in Calgary, Canada, representing the United Kingdom at the 40th WorldSkills competition.
Daniel Cain, 22, a Grimsby based automotive technician who works at Just Car Clinics, will compete in the auto body repair category, Dean Jones, 20, from Swansea, who works for Mercedes-Benz of Swansea will be vying for a medal in automobile technology and Zak McLaughlan, 19, a Denham based apprentice car painter who studies at Thatcham and works at Solus Norwich Union will be hoping for gold in the car painting category.
All three technicians are part of Team UK who are competing at WorldSkills 2009 - the skills equivalent of the Olympics – which, watched by an estimated 200,000 spectators, will see over 900 competitors from 51 nations compete in 45 skills ranging from landscape gardening, IT and cooking to hairdressing. From over 5,000 young people the squad of 26 were selected following numerous regional and national finals. The automotive competitors achieved their place following a tough selection process as part of the Skillauto competition.
The members of Team UK were recently honoured at a reception where they were joined by Skills Minister Kevin Brennan and the Chief Executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Chris Humphries. The team were also presented with a letter from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Speaking at the reception, Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said: “This team of talented young people will inspire others with their hard work, and will show the rest of the world just how highly skilled our country is when they represent the UK at WorldSkills. The future success of key industries in our economy, such as manufacturing, construction and engineering, depends on the world class skills and commitment these young people are so clearly demonstrating. It’s more important than ever that we continue to support and invest in the skills of our workforce, helping individuals get into and stay on at work as well as helping businesses stay competitive and prepare for the upturn.”
Sarah Sillars OBE, Chief Executive of the IMI said:
“Dean, Daniel and Zak have done fantastically well to achieve their places in the UK squad and we wish them all the very best as they compete at the WorldSkills competition in Calgary. Highly skilled and competent professionals are an integral part of the automotive sector in the UK and these young technicians are now demonstrating their ability and commitment on a world stage.”
Sarah Whiteside-Jones, Careers Manager at the IMI will be in Canada to support the automotive team and to report on their progress as they challenge for medals.
WorldSkills Calgary 2009 takes place from 1st-6th September with the competition running from 2nd – 5th.