WELSH apprentices and students are continuing to thrive on a global stage with the triumphant return of WorldSkills Europe and WorldSkills International – the world’s biggest skills competitions.

This September, Team UK will comprise a total of 20 competitors, with four hailing from Wales and taking centre stage at EuroSkills Gdańsk in Poland from September 5-9.

At the event, 600 skilled professionals younger than 25, from 32 member countries - including Germany, Switzerland and France - will compete for the title of best in their trade.

Wales has previously seen 35 competitors compete abroad in countries including Kazan and Abu Dhabi.

This year, the competitors will be competing in the plumbing, mechanical engineering (CAD), restaurant services and web development competitions. 

In addition to EuroSkills Gdańsk, 21 Welsh competitors have been named in the squad for the International WorldSkills competition in Lyon 2024. 

The international competition – also known as the “Skills Olympics” - is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world, with many of the competitors at Gdansk aiming for this end goal.

Welding competitor, Aron Jones, studied at Coleg Menai, Anglesey, and is competing for a place at Lyon 2024.

He said: “Competing in these skills competitions has been invaluable to my entrance into the workplace.

“My main motivation was that my friends had competed before and are now working on nuclear power stations, and that was inspiring to me.

“By competing in WorldSkills, I’ve made some amazing connections. I’ve met so many talented competitors and inspiring employers from across the UK – some of which even offered me the chance to go to a trade test which was a great learning experience!”

Minister for economy, Vaughan Gething, said: “We’re so proud to see so many of our Welsh competitors earning places in Team and Squad UK.

“WorldSkills offers individuals with the opportunity to showcase their skills and benchmark their vocational skills internationally.

“Successes like this demonstrate that, as a nation, Wales is continually producing highly skilled, talented young people who are well equipped to join businesses and further our Welsh economy.”

Ben Blackledge, interim chief executive for WorldSkills UK, who selects and trains Team UK to the highest international standard said: “The EuroSkills Finals provides a valuable mechanism for benchmarking the quality of skills.

“Through its competition-based assessment of young people’s skills against European industry standards, we can compare UK standards against those in the rest of Europe and importantly bring that international best practice back to the UK through the programmes we run at WorldSkills UK.

“This will be a life-enhancing opportunity for these remarkable young people who will be competing as Team UK.

“They are leaders of their generation – and will inspire many more to walk in their footsteps.  I wish them the best of luck.”