The Department for the Economy has hosted a celebration to recognise the achievements of the four Northern Ireland competitors, who were part of Team UK, at the recent WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan.
The four local students and trainees competed alongside participants from more than 70 countries and regions throughout the world, in a variety of skills areas including Engineering, Hospitality Professional Services, Construction and Information Technology.
Alongside Curtis Johnston, South Eastern Regional College, who competed in the Plastering and Drywall Systems skill area, Northern Ireland had Conor McKevitt, Riverpark Training taking part in Automotive Refinishing, Declan Porter, North West Regional College in Automotive Technology, and finally Shea McFerran from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) competing in the Landscape Gardening discipline.
Conor from Riverpark Training excelled in his skill area, winning a silver medal and he also received the Best of Nation Award, Shea McFerran was awarded a medallion of excellence, in recognition of achieving the world standard in Landscape Gardening, whilst Curtis Johnston and Declan Porter performed extremely well in their respective competitions finishing well up in the merit order.
Addressing the four competitors at the celebration event, Heather Cousins, Head of the Skills and Education Group at the Department for the Economy, said: “Congratulations to all four of our local members on Team UK – you should all be extremely proud of representing yourselves, your families, your organisation, and Northern Ireland with such distinction on the world stage.
“Skills competitions such as WorldSkills are an excellent opportunity for us to showcase the professional and technical skills of local talent on the global stage and I am delighted that the hard work and determination of these young people has been rewarded.”
Acknowledging the time, dedication and effort that goes into preparing for such a prestigious international event, Heather continued: “I also want to pay tribute to the FE colleges, training organisations, training managers and lecturers, and to all those who have been involved in enabling the WorldSkills competitors to be the best that they can be.”
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