The final two members of the team that will represent Britain at the WorldSkills competition in Abu Dhabi in October have been named.
Ruth Hansom, 22, who works at The Ritz in London and trained at Westminster Kingsway College, and Daryl Head, 20, who trained at Thatcham Apprentice Academy and now works for Nationwide Crash Repair, have been selected to join the Team UK team.
Ruth will compete in cooking and Daryl will compete in car painting after beating off thousands of fellow competitors in a two-year process of regional and national skills competitions. This included an intense selection weekend this spring.
Final members of Team UK
The two are the final members of the team to join the squad, while their fellow team members were announced in April. The 34-strong squad will now undergo a rigorous regime of training in preparation for the competition.
WorldSkills UK chief executive Dr Neil Bentley said: “This is a critical moment for the future of these inspirational young people - and our economy. Our ability to produce the right number of skilled, motivated, young people is vital for productivity, competitiveness and economic growth. Skills top the agenda of so many organisations - governments across the UK and the CBI [Confederation of British Industry] through to the trade unions and education sector.”
Skills represented at WorldSkills range from aircraft maintenance and mechanical engineering to restaurant service and cyber security. At the most recent WorldSkills finals, held in São Paulo in 2015, Team UK finished overall seventh in the medal table, ahead of France and Germany. The team brought home a haul of medals including three gold, four silver, two bronze and 23 medallions of excellence.
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