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 these 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.”
Notes to editors:
- The WorldSkills competition took place between 22 to 27 August 2019.
- The Team UK delegation was made up of 37 of the very best apprentices and students from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Overall the UK won two gold, one silver and one bronze and 15 medallions of excellence.
The full list of Northern Ireland competitors in Team UK for WorldSkills 2019 is:
Conor McKevitt, Automotive Refinishing, Riverpark Training
Curtis Johnston, Plastering and drywall systems, South Eastern Regional College
Declan Porter, Automotive Technology, North West Regional College
Shea McFerran, Landscape Gardening, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise
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5. Picture captions:
World Skills 001 - Pictured from left to right are Declan Porter, North West Regional College, Conor McKevitt, Riverpark Training and Shea McFerran, CAFRE. Conor excelled in his skill area, winning a silver medal and he also received the Best of Nation Award while Shea was awarded a medallion of excellence in recognition of achieving the world standard in Landscape Gardening.
World Skills 002 - Pictured from left to right Shea McFerran, CAFRE, Heather Cousins, Department for the Economy, Conor McKevitt, Riverpark Training and Declan Porter, North West Regional College. Conor excelled in his skill area, winning a silver medal and he also received the Best of Nation Award while Shea was awarded a medallion of excellence, in recognition of achieving the world standard in Landscape Gardening.
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