WorldSkills Calgary 2009

WorldSkills TV

Team Ireland, EuroSkills 2008

Congratulations to all of the Irish competitors who took part in EuroSkills 2008. The experience of competing for your country on an international stage is one that never leaves you. It has a huge impact on you as a person; it changes the way you go about your work for the rest of your life. The group who travelled to Holland make history, going down as the Irish team that contested the first ever EuroSkills event. Many members of this team will go on to compete again at the 40th WorldSkills competition, to be held in Calgary, Canada in the autumn of 2009. Their experience in the Netherlands will stand them in great stead for a second crack, this time against young apprentices from every corner of the globe.

The Irish team returned from Rotterdam with a fair share of medals:
Light Vehicles Technician: Gold medal - Colm Corcoran
Plastering: Silver - Denis Lucey
Joinery: Silver - Jason Finn
Farrier (team): Silver - Paul O'Reilly and Ruairi Brennan
Farrier: Bronze - Paul O'Reilly
Plumbing: Bronze - Stephen Brady

WorldSkills

My personal WorldSkills adventure started with a one-off, one-day exam in college and has lead to a Department of Education & Science silver medal, the experience of representing and competing for Ireland in Graphic Design Technology in international competition, and the opportunity to work as as part of the event secretariat team in Shizouka, Japan.

WorldSkills is an incredible organisation. The competition itself is held once every two years, the next in Calgary, Canada 2009. Over 50 countries are represented in as many different vocational trade areas, from Automobile Technology to Beauty Therapy, Graphic Design Technology to Joinery, Welding to Floristry. Representation on the international stage goes back to national and regional contests held in individual countries; competitors training for the international event do so alongside a technical Expert who with Experts from each other competing nation will judge the finished work to determine medal winners.