Celebration Marks Success for NI WorldSkills Participants

The Department for the Economy held a reception in Parliament Buildings, Belfast, on Tuesday 21 February, to congratulate the local students who competed in the global WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition and the WorldSkills UK Finals held late last year.

Five local students competed as part of Team UK in the global WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, while 63 Northern Irish learners took part in the WorldSkills UK Finals, including SERC’s Alexander Wallace (27), from Saintfield, a Level 3 Fire and Security apprentice employed by BPS when he won the medal, and now employed by Atlas World,  who took Gold in the inaugural Fire Detection and Alarm System competition hosted in Romford and Dagenham; Level 3 Patisserie and Confectionery students Marija Kuzaite (17), from Coalisland, who was awarded a Gold Medal and fellow student Eimear McCarthy (18), from Portaferry, who was awarded a Silver Medal in the Confectionery and Patisserie competition which took place in Belfast. The SERC students helped secure Northern Ireland’s best ever result.

Speaking after the reception, attended by students, as well as representatives from the FE colleges and private training providers, Heather Cousins, DfE’s Head of Skills and Education, said: “It is hugely pleasing to see that, once again, local vocational skills learners are competing, and succeeding, on the national and international stages. “Northern Ireland participants made up one in seven of the UK team that competed in the global WorldSkills Special Edition event, proportionally more than any other UK region. The team placed tenth in the world, a highly creditable effort.

“And from the UK competition our local students brought home 10 gold, 10 silver and eight bronze medals, as well as five highly commended awards, putting Northern Ireland second place in the UK, our best ever outcome. Local participants always do well in WorldSkills competitions but this year they have outdone themselves – well done!”

Ms Cousins continued: “I am also especially encouraged that Southern Regional College finished as the top-performing UK FE college – quite the honour in a very strong field and a further endorsement of our local FE sector. “I congratulate all Northern Irish participants on their tremendous efforts. I also pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of teaching staff in the colleges and private training providers. This success in what are very high-quality competitions highlights the quality of the vocational skills teaching offering that is available to local learners, right across Northern Ireland.”

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, CEO of WorldSkills UK, also attended the reception. He said: “I am enormously proud to be able to congratulate in person the fantastic participants from Northern Ireland who have demonstrated yet again that they are amongst the very best in their chosen field in the UK and the world. They and their teaching staff in the colleges and private training providers can be very proud of their achievements. “This performance gives us a fantastic platform to work with our partners across Northern Ireland to maintain the focus on world-class skills development.

“We will use the international benchmarking insights gained from our global network in WorldSkills to help raise standards in higher technical education and apprenticeships, so that more investors and employers know that young people in Northern Ireland have got they skills they need to succeed.”

The WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition replaced the usual Skills Olympics and saw more than 1,000 young people participate in 62 skills competitions, held over 12 weeks in 15 countries.

For more information on WorldSkills, visit: https://www.worldskillsuk.org