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Worldskills medal winner honoured at Stormont reception

Friday, 6 November 2009

Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey, has hosted a reception in honour of Fermanagh joiner, Trevor Woods’ success at WorldSkills in Calgary in September.

The reception, which was held at Parliament Buildings tonight, celebrated Trevor’s colossal achievement of winning a bronze medal at the biggest skills based competition in the world.

Trevor, a City and Guilds qualified apprentice at South West Regional College in Omagh and employed by McAleer and Teague, Dromore, County Tyrone, beat some of the best young skilled people in the world to win the medal. He competed as part of the 26 strong UK WorldSkills team which won a total of nine medals during the September event – three gold and six bronze.

Sir Reg congratulated Trevor on his success and presented him with a commemorative Tyrone Crystal Globe.

Speaking at the event Sir Reg said: “Ensuring that Northern Ireland has a skilled workforce is fundamentally important to our economy and developing talent is a vital part of that. Skills competitions encourage technical excellence and world class standards, and industry benefits from having a more skilful, highly motivated workforce.”

He continued: “Trevor’s global success at WorldSkills has shown the rest of the world that Northern Ireland has a talented workforce with the high level of skills required to compete in the global economy.”

Trevor said: "Winning the medal was the most fantastic feeling. To have competed against the best young joiners in the world was an amazing experience in itself, but to win a Bronze Medal in the trade I love is just incredible. I really do feel on top of the world! The last year has been absolutely brilliant. To have been given the chance to learn what I am capable of, to train with some of the best in the industry and to be part of such a great team has been unbelievable. Thank you to my college lecturer, training manager, Northern Ireland Skill Build and mum and dad."

WorldSkills takes place every two years with nearly 1,000 competitors from 51 countries, competing in 45 skills categories. Preparations are already underway for the 41st WorldSkills competition which will be held in London in October 2011.

Notes to editors:

  1. The WorldSkills Competition is the biggest skills competition in the world and is held every two years in one of its member countries. It sets world class standards in over 40 skill categories ranging from cabinet making to web design.
  2. Over four days of tough competition, nearly 1,000 young people drawn now from 52 member nations test themselves against tough international standards. The ultimate prizes are gold, silver and bronze medals.
  3. Locations of previous and future WorldSkills competitions: 2003, St. Gallen, Switzerland; 2005, Helsinki, Finland; 2007, Shizuoka, Japan; 2009, Calgary, Canada. The next WorldSkills competition will be held in London in 2011.
  4. Calgary hosted the 40th WorldSkills Competition, from 1 to 7 September 2009. In addition to the 900 competitors from 51 member countries, there were 3,000 volunteers, 5,000 international experts, delegates and visitors, 30,000 hotel room nights, 150,000 student and public spectators and 80,000 square metres of competition space.
  5. UK Skills was responsible for selecting and training UK candidates for WorldSkills.
  6. The UK’s WorldSkills team was managed by UK Skills working in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and key partners from education, government and industry.
  7. City & Guilds support Team UK and are premier sponsors of WorldSkills London 2011.
  8. Skillbuild Northern Ireland developed from Construction Craft Competitions in 1994 and has grown into the leading skills competition in the construction industry in Northern Ireland www.skillbuildni.org.
  9. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.