For immediate release:  5^th November 2008

Joan Walley MP calls for local skilled young people to come forward

Now the Olympics have come to an end it’s time to turn our attention to another group of talented people.  At a time when the UK needs skilled people the most, UK Skills have organised a skills competition for young people in North Staffordshire.

UK Skills is a not-for-profit organisation which champions skills and learning for work through competitions and awards.  Since it was established in 1990, thousands of competitors have taken part in national and international skills competitions. It oversees the WorldSkills UK network of around 70 skills competitions in sectors including engineering, IT, cultural and creative arts, built environment, and professional, social and hospitality services. The WorldSkills Competition is coming to London in 2011.

Local MP Joan Walley explains: “The UK has a wealth of young people who are currently studying and training in skills based careers, but their talent is often overlooked and other career routes have been seen as ‘better options’ but now is the time to realise that it’s these young people that will help ensure the UK keeps functioning even through these difficult economic times.  With that in mind it is incredibly important that we encourage young people to look at skill based careers such as in ceramics as a valid option.  I would sincerely love to see more people in North Staffordshire become UK competitors.”

“Current statistics show that there have been only 2 young people from Stoke-on-Trent take part in the international WorldSkills Competitions.  I would like to see that figure improve to showcase just what talent we have in the area.”

Skills competitions offer significant benefits to all those who enter and support competitions. This is reinforced in the government’s skills agenda and supported by the Leitch Review of Skills.  For competitors there’s the prospect of recognition for their exceptional skills and better career prospects while for the trainer or tutor there’s professional pride and evidence of continuing professional development. For colleges, the competitions help spur students on and demonstrate a confidence in the quality of processes and output. For employers, being involved can widen the options for growth, inject ambition and aspiration into current staff and attract good prospective staff, but even more than that for the country as a whole, skill competitions help to develop a ‘world class’ work force. 

Ms Walley continues: “Skilled people should be celebrated for their talent and entering competitions such as WorldSkills gives us that chance.  I would like to encourage all young people who would like to find out more about entering skill competitions during 2009 to visit the WorldSkills UK website at www.worldskillsuk.org.  Those that apply for 2009 competitions may also have the chance to compete at WorldSkills 2011, when the event will be held in London – the perfect time to show off our talent.” 

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For more information, please contact:

Simon Oswald on 0207 2196985

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About UK Skills                     www.ukskills.org.uk

UK Skills is a not-for-profit organisation which champions skills and learning for work through competitions and awards. The organisation was established in 1990 with the primary purpose of raising skill levels in the UK through skills competitions and managing the UK team which competes in the WorldSkills Competition and the new EuroSkills competition. It also manages the National Training Awards and organises other skills related events. 

About WorldSkills UK Competitions                      www.worldskillsuk.org

WorldSkills UK is the name for the UK’s premier set of skills competitions for young people and adults. Competitions run every year in around 70 skills. Top competitors from selected WorldSkills UK competitions may get the opportunity to enter the selection process for a WorldSkills Competition. 

WorldSkills UK is led by UK Skills and is supported by government, the devolved nations and a host of other partners across business, industry and the world of education and training. WorldSkills UK is an integral part of the legacy being developed by UK Skills as part of its work for WorldSkills London 2011.

About WorldSkills Competitions

The WorldSkills Competition is the biggest skills competition in the world and is held every two years in one of its member countries.  Its sets world class standards in over 40 skill categories ranging from cabinet making to web design.

Over four days of tough competition, young people drawn from 50 member nations test themselves against tough international standards.  The ultimate prizes are gold, silver and bronze medals.  Medallions for Excellence are also awarded to those young people who achieve or exceed the World Class score of 500 points out of a maximum of 600 across the four days of competition.

Locations of previous and future WorldSkills competitions and the UK results for these:

2003: St. Gallen, Switzerland (where the UK finished in 15^th place)

2005: Helsinki, Finland (where the UK finished in 12^th place)

2007: Shizuoka, Japan (where the UK finished in 11^th place)

2009: Calgary, Canada

2011: London, UK