By WorldSkills UK 

This month's edition includes:

• Results from 17 live competition finals
• Careers advice from Simon Bartley, CEO, UK Skills
• 'Skills for Sustainable Growth’
• WorldSkills London 2011 update
• Tickets on sale for NTA regional ceremonies

Read the full Update here.

By WorldSkills London 2011

With WorldSkills London 2011 just over a year away, preparations for the big Competition are ramping up with a ‘taster’ event due to take place at Skills London in October this year.

Skills London, running at ExCeL London from 7–9 October, will mark the start of the official countdown to WorldSkills London 2011 and will kick off a year-long programme of events and activities which will take place across the UK. 

WorldSkills International has just launched the WorldSkills Blog! The Blog will educate, inform, promote and engage people around the world who want to discuss the latest trends, ideas, movements and relevant issues in skills, trades and technologies.

The blog currently includes some exciting topics, these are just an example of what potential the blog can evolve to in the future. It is our hope that bloggers and readers can help drive an interactive and engaging attitude and spirit through this initiative.

The WorldSkills Blog is a platform for people that are passionate about skills and want to share their opinions and voice their ideas with others.

If you wish to become a regular contributor please contact Christine Scoot (christine.scoot@worldskills.org). We look forward to adding more exciting contributions from the WorldSkills movement so visit blog.worldskills.org now and share your thoughts.

By WorldSkills UK

Simon Bartley, CEO, UK Skills argues that a new apprenticeship framework is needed to ensure the UK is able to produce apprentices with world class skills that excel in a global market.

Read the full story FE needs a new Apprenticeship framework.

By WorldSkills UK

Welcome

• This month we bring you news about:
• Live competition finals - including latest results
• IT and Design finals held in Milton Keynes
• WorldSkills London 2011
• Latest developments in skills

Click here to view the full Update.

By skillsbelgium

The July edition of the skillsbelgium newsletter is out now. The issue i dedicated to Team Belgium's preparations towards EuroSkills 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal this December.

Click on the link to read the full version.  

Alex Wenham working on his prizewinning 'Christ in mandorla', inspired by work he had seen at Ely Cathedral, during the European Stone Festival last month.

By Alex Wenham

European Stone Festival 2010 - Saverne, France
More than 150 stone carvers and masons from a dozen countries, gathered in the elegant gardens in front of the red sandstone Château des Rohan in the small town of Saverne near Strasbourg in France at the end of May for this year’s European Stone Festival, reports Alex Wenham, an English carver living and working in Paris, who took part in the festival.

The three-day event, with two days of carving, was hosted by the stonemasonry school of the town in collaboration with the European Association of Stone Masons & Sculptors (EASMS), the masonry works at nearby Strasbourg Cathedral and Les Compagnons du Devoir, the organisation behind the touring apprentices of France.

By Skills Netherlands

In this June issue of Skills Netherland's newsletter you can read about:

• EuroSkills Lisboa 2010
• Skills Talents 2011
• Environmental Science Project
• World Expo 

By WorldSkills Australia

Mark Callaghan’s Welcome
Recently a colleague asked me what our attention would be turned to now that the 2010 National Competition had been completed. The person who asked went on to say that WorldSkills Australia must have a ‘quiet period’ in front of them. My response probably echoed everyone who is involved with WSA, noting to them that while the 2010 National Competition had finished and that the immediate pressure of planning and staging an event was passed, WSA activity continued to be strong.

To read the full version click here.

By skillsbelgium

The June edition of the skillsbelgium newsletter is out now. The issue i dedicated to Team Belgium's preparations towards EuroSkills 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal this December.

Click on the link to read the full version.

Pierre-Luc, gold medalist in Restaurant Service, WSC2009, speaking at the WSI 60th anniversary VIP reception

By Skills/Compétences Canada

35 of Canada’s top talent in trades and technology were invited to take on the world at the WorldSkills London 2011 Competition

After the completion of two days of intense competition between approximately 550 Competitors at the Skills Canada National Competition held in Waterloo, Ontario, over 150 students proudly took the podium at the Closing Ceremony on May 23rd to receive official recognition for their outstanding performance.

Of those that excelled, 35 talented youth were invited to join Team Canada to represent our country at the WorldSkills Competition in London, United Kingdom October 5-8, 2011. Made up of 31 male and 4 female Competitors ranging in age from 15 to 21, they have been invited to take on the challenge of their lives.

By WorldSkills London 2011

The largest international vocational skills competition in the world will be held in London in October 2011 — and the promotion of the event is now well underway.

WorldSkills London 2011 will take place 5–8 October 2011 at ExCeL in London’s docklands and will be the most exciting, inclusive and interactive skills competition ever held. Over 150 000 visitors will witness an estimated 1 200 Competitors from 50 countries/regions competing in 45 skills ranging from Bricklaying to Cooking and Mobile Robotics.

Bricklaying

By WorldSkills Australia

Share in the excitement of the WorldSkills Australia National Competition Brisbane 2010 by visiting the WorldSkills Australia website to see photos, videos and updates and see the full list of results in the Open and VETiS (Vocational Education and Training in Schools) categories.

Over 500 Competitors representing 30 regions competed in 50 skills, trades and technologies during the three days of competition. The Competitors were judged by 250 Experts from across Australia, while being watched by over 70 000 visitors at the 25 000 m² Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Painting and Decorating

By WorldSkills Korea

The Local Skills Competition 2010 was held  7–12 April 2010 in 16 cities nationwide. It was the biggest in Korea so far, with 10 243 Competitors in 56 skills ranging from Polymechanics to Beauty Therapy.

The winners of the Local Skills Competition were awarded medals, certificates and prize money and qualified to compete in the 45th National Skills Competition, which will be held on  7–13 September 2010 in Incheon City. The winners are also exempted from the crafts level of the national qualification certificate.

By skillsbelgium

If we listened to little boys and girls, we’d think that the world was populated with firemen, pilots, nurses and school teachers. And if we listened to their parents, it would be full of doctors and lawyers.

There is an urgent need for us to stop pitting practical knowledge against abstract knowledge. That’s why skillsbelgium decided to start 2010 with a campaign to improve the image of vocational skills and the young people who embark on them.

These young men and women — whether technicians, cooks, roofers, web designers, electricians, welders, mechatronics engineers, graphic designers, bricklayers, tilers, joiners or printers — are undoubtedly the key players in an advancing economy.

By WorldSkills Australia

On the evening of Monday the 10th of May, the WorldSkills Australia Presentation Ceremony provided the perfect end to a very successful 2010 National Competition.

The 2010 National Competition was the largest Australian National Competition held with over 20,000 square metres of competition space plus an additional 5,000 square metres of Careers Expo space. Anyone who walked the competition halls will attest to the sheer size of the event. While we are gradually sending thank you’s to everyone involved in staging the 2010 National Competition, I would like to take this opportunity to again thank everyone involved.

Click here to read the rest of SkillNews.

Leading international education experts book the date in your diary

01 June 2010, Manama: A global education summit launched last year in Bahrain will return to the Kingdom in October, reuniting international experts focused on improving the quality of education worldwide.

The second occasion of the Education Project will take place from 8-10 October, bringing together the community of educators formed at the inaugural event last year. The annual platform was initiated by His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Chairman of the Kingdom’s Economic Development Board (EDB). It was established to help shape the future of education, described last year by HRH the Crown Prince as the most important issue to the future of any country.

By Skillbuild Northern Ireland

Construction apprentices from all over Northern Ireland tested their skills in the largest multi-trade skills competition in the Province at South West College, Enniskillen, on May 12-13, 2010.

Providing a unique stage to showcase excellence and talent, Skillbuild NI (Northern Ireland) is hosted each spring and over 100 of the top construction apprentices competed to win coveted titles in 13 different craft areas, ranging from plumbing to bricklaying and, for the first time, electrical installation. The winners may then go on to represent Northern Ireland in the UK and Skillbuild finals.

Skillbuild NI competition test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of apprentices to follow detailed instructions, produce accurate and neat work outputs, be economical with materials and work to strict timescales – all essential requirements for today’s construction industry. The competition not only encourages trainees to improve their own skills but provides an example of the high quality work being produced in training organisations across NI to meet local industry skill levels.

By UK Skills

A team of talented young landscape gardeners that helped create a garden designed by UK Skills to showcase ‘world class talent’ have had their achievements celebrated by the Experts at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show by winning a silver medal.

UK Skills, the not for profit organisation that champions skills and learning for work through competitions and awards, created the garden “Growing World Class Talent: celebrating the workforce of tomorrow”, to promote excellence in vocational education and training. It also aimed to illustrate how greater investment in skills and development will help lift UK industry out of recession. The garden features a variety of edible, ornamental and native plants and showcases the wide range of skills that are required to construct an outdoor space suitable for 21st century living. The garden was judged in the Urban Garden category at the Show.

The Swedish Nationals (Yrkes-SM) are being held from May 19-21, 2010 at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg.

200 young people, all under the age of 22, are competing in over 30 skills, to win a chance to go through to EuroSkills in Portugal this December and WorldSkills London 2011 in October next year.

Yrkes-SM is organised by Youth Skills Sweden, Member of WorldSkills International, with the support of the government, LO and Svensk Näringsliv, with a shared goal of profiling vocational education and training as a great career opportunity.  

For more information vist Youth Skills Sweden, YouTube and Facebook.